


Icha Icha Nights

by Adelaida, anniemaar, flailinginlove



Category: Naruto
Genre: Includes Art, Kakashi has trust issues, Kakashi starts out in a cold-blooded ANBU phase, M/M, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn, Threats of Rape/Non-Con, again see notes for full warnings, and many other pairings - Freeform, beta read – I am no man, but then that's Naruto in general, mentioned Zabuza/Haku, mentions of rape in Iruka's stories, ridiculous amounts of bathing people, see notes for full list of mentioned pairings, see notes for full warnings, some of Iruka's stories are honestly a little bury your gays trope-wise, vaguely One Thousand and One Nights inspired AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-16
Updated: 2020-05-19
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:28:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 50,149
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23732341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Adelaida/pseuds/Adelaida, https://archiveofourown.org/users/anniemaar/pseuds/anniemaar, https://archiveofourown.org/users/flailinginlove/pseuds/flailinginlove
Summary: A foolish bet is going to get Iruka and his friends killed if he can't find a way to save them from the ruthless king who has imprisoned them. Each night he tells the king stories to buy them more time, but in between the lewd tales he spins, he discovers that not all of his friends are what they seem and neither is the king.
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi/Umino Iruka
Comments: 336
Kudos: 1095
Collections: KakaIru Big Bang 2020





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> [ ](https://66.media.tumblr.com/4cde653a5c617d2dc6f19defb6ded249/4fa1b15808a6fa07-f7/s1280x1920/4f897c19ac443598dd8060c9d57dc880be3a7f28.png)  
> (click image for full size)  
> 
> 
>   
> So, I set out to write an unapologetically trashy romance (i.e. flimsy plot that's just an excuse for ridiculous situations and endless amounts of smut ^__^b), but I think it will surprise no one familiar with my writing when I say fluff managed to sneak its way in. XD; This was definitely fun to write. I hope you enjoy reading it!
> 
> Massive thanks to water_bby for beta reading! Also thank you to pastles and ladyxdaydream for giving me feedback on the first few chapters! Thank you all so much! I really appreciate it! 
> 
> I'd also like to thank the artists I had the privilege of working with on this, Adelaida ([tumblr](https://i-like-to-look-at-your-back.tumblr.com/) / [twitter](https://twitter.com/ola_cha) / **[Art post for this fic](https://i-like-to-look-at-your-back.tumblr.com/post/618391413781069824/kakairu)** ) and anniemaar ([tumblr](https://anniemaar.tumblr.com/) / [twitter](https://twitter.com/anniemaar)). They both went above and beyond the call of duty with their art and I'm so thrilled at the works they created. Their art is absolutely gorgeous, I cannot rave about it enough. Please give them all the love they deserve. *___*
> 
>   
> **Hover your mouse over the exclamation points for further details on warnings and pairings.**
> 
> General fic warnings:  !
> 
> Warnings for Iruka's stories include:  !
> 
> Iruka's stories include the following pairings:  !
> 
> If you are on a device that doesn't allow that, full warnings are also posted [here](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1r9pUEA9J8EuVcApzJ_YCyDVNvKHJPlUBHLBUHTHeZ1c/edit?usp=sharing). 
> 
> Also, this is completely random, but when I was writing this, YouTube recommended a video called [Ancient Spa Ambience](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbxLnvWVSrk) to me. And while the image doesn't fit, it amused the hell out of me and became my official background noise while I was working on this fic. Would recommend if you want a little extra ambiance during certain scenes. XD

It had been a bet. A foolish, idiotic, _asinine_ bet. And now he was going to die for it.

 _Bet you can't steal a persimmon from the palace gardens, Iruka._ Iruka's thoughts were high-pitched and mocking; the self-ridicule a nice distraction from the way he was being bundled up and tossed over a shoulder like he weighed nothing at all. He didn't try to fight it. _You said you could sneak into any building, Iruka. This should be no problem for you._

He always had let his bravado get him into trouble. Whether it was boasting of the things he was capable of or what he'd done in the past, even at twenty years old, he hadn't yet grown out of his childhood habit, and Mizuki knew it. He knew exactly the things to say to get Iruka in the right frame of mind for some high-level stupidity. 

Out of relentless curiosity, Iruka had scouted around the palace enough to find a flaw in its security. It was a little thing, an irregularity in the way the guards patrolled during their nightly shift change, but he'd been sure he'd be able to get in and out without notice. It'd been an interesting secret, a tiny _I know something you don't know_ that gave his step just a tad more bounce. He hadn't planned on doing anything with that knowledge, but then he'd told Mizuki and things had escalated.

Which was how he found himself here, apprehended by guards for trespassing and suspicion of who knew what else. All Iruka had planned to do was grab one piece of fruit as proof of his inability to turn down a bad idea and then leave. He wasn't a thief, he didn't want to steal more than that, he didn't want to cause any harm. It was a single piece of fruit, and even if it was one that didn't grow anywhere else in the kingdom, the palace gardens had miles of orchards. Surely no one would notice.

But his attempts at scouting hadn't been so great after all. With as quickly as the guards had found him, they might as well have been waiting for him.

Iruka thanked any gods listening that he hadn't allowed Izumo and Kotetsu to come with him. They'd both warned him against this, not that Iruka had listened. They were usually up for a good bit of mischief, but they'd told him this was ill-advised from the start. 

"You don't take risks when it comes to the King. Don't let Mizuki talk you into this idiocy," they'd said. 

But when it'd become clear that Iruka wasn't going to back down, they'd both wanted to go with him, to keep a lookout for any stray guards if nothing else. Iruka had convinced them to stay outside the palace walls. He just hoped they didn't do anything foolish when they realized he wasn't coming back. They were too good of friends. He didn't deserve them, and they _definitely_ didn't deserve to get in trouble because of him.

Iruka was tossed unceremoniously into a dim, lantern-lit cell. The slamming of the door behind him and the heavy click of the lock sliding into place felt like his fate being sealed. He sank down onto the nearest cot's thin mattress and waited for whatever would come next.

Just a few minutes later, it was clear no gods had been listening to his prayers. Or if they had been, those gods hated Iruka. The door to the cell was unlocked and thrown open, only to be slammed shut again after Izumo and Kotetsu had been shoved inside. Iruka stared at them in horror.

"What- why?" Iruka sputtered. There was no way they could have realized he'd been caught yet. They shouldn't have had time to do anything foolish.

"That's what I want to know," Izumo said, plopping down onto the cot next to Iruka and glaring at the cell door. 

Iruka looked at Kotetsu who shrugged and sat on a cot across from them. "They came out of nowhere and grabbed us, like they knew exactly where we'd be."

"They wouldn't even tell us what we'd done wrong. Just a grunt of 'criminal activity,'" Izumo said.

Iruka groaned, burying his face in his hands. "I'm so sorry I got you caught up in this."

Izumo slapped him hard on the shoulder. "Hey, what are friends for if not receiving unnecessarily harsh punishments for minor crimes together?"

"We didn't do anything," Iruka said. "Or at least, _you_ didn't do anything. Surely-"

He looked up to see Izumo and Kotetsu exchanging a glance. 

"What?" Iruka asked.

"They call him the Friend Killer, Iruka. The Cold-Blooded King. You don't get names like that for being nice or lenient," Izumo said.

"I know the rumors, but they can't all be true. Just look at the state of the kingdom. We've been at peace for years now. Konoha is prosperous. Whatever people say, he's a good king. He can't be _that_ cruel."

"Always trying to see the best in people, aren't you, Iruka?" Kotetsu asked.

"No one could be as bad as those rumors."

"Iruka," Izumo said almost gently. 

"I know, _I know_ , but I just can't believe-"

"We know you can't. That's what makes you _you_ ," Kotetsu said.

"It'll be fine," Iruka said, ignoring the skeptical looks Izumo and Kotetsu sent him. "It'll work out."

"Sure it will," Izumo said, but they could all hear exactly how little he believed it.

~*~*~

The following day, they were fed well enough, and though not spacious, there was still room for the three of them to move around the cell. It wasn't damp or dirty, it wasn't sweltering hot or freezing cold. It was even decently lit during daylight hours, and they were given water to wash with, room temperature, but clean. Their treatment was _humane_ , something Iruka hadn't expected for all his hope that the rumors were exaggerated.

That evening, the guards came again and opened the cell door.

"You," one of them said, pointing to Izumo. "You will come with us."

Iruka was on his feet immediately. "No." 

The guard stared at him with large, creepy eyes, but Iruka refused to back down.

"Take me instead," Iruka said, moving to stand between the guards and his friends.

"Iruka," Kotetsu hissed, "he _will kill you_."

Iruka shook his head. "You guys didn't do anything. I need to take responsibility for my actions."

" _Iruka_ ," Izumo started.

" _No_ ," Iruka said again, "if he wants to execute you, he needs to execute me first."

"Pretty sure he will," Kotetsu muttered.

Iruka's stomach twisted with dread, but he didn't look back at his friends. "Take me instead," he repeated to the guards.

They glanced at each other, shrugged, then led Iruka out of the cell before he could say goodbye.

~*~*~

The palace was massive, though Iruka doubted he was seeing more than a fraction as they led him through it. Each corridor was more ornate than the last. Gilded scrolls covered the walls; some depicted Konoha's history, others delicate scenery. Even if he was walking to his death, Iruka couldn't help but stare in awe. He hadn't seen this much wealth in his whole life.

Their footfalls against the polished wooden floors echoed down the hallways, leading them ever closer to his fate. The soft smell of cedar and cypress hung in the air, a scent straight from his childhood home. Iruka inhaled deeply and used the memories it brought up to steady himself.

They finally stopped in front of a set of large sliding doors decorated with forked lightning and a thousand birds in flight, each with one glittering ruby eye. Iruka tried to remember to breathe as the guards slid the doors open and flanked him as he stepped inside.

He didn't know what to expect. The rumors painted the King to be a monster with glowing red eyes and hands dripping blood. If a person saw his face, they died, that was what everyone said. He killed his friends, his family, and anyone who crossed him.

Iruka's heart pounded a frantic rhythm in his chest, but he forced his hands not to shake as he walked into the King's rooms. 

Then he blinked at the sight before him.

Whatever he'd expected, this wasn't it. A man with gray hair sat slouched in a chair, layers of baggy embroidered robes all but obscuring his form. A cloth covered the bottom half of his face and a patch rested over one of his eyes. He was reading a bright orange book, one Iruka had heard about, but had never read himself. Its contents were talked about in nearly as many hushed whispers as the King, though for entirely different reasons. It was said to be the most scandalous book ever written, that it would make even the hardest warrior blush. Though with the cloth covering his face, it would be impossible to tell if the King was blushing.

He glanced up from his book, his one visible eye looking bored as he regarded Iruka.

All Iruka could do was hold his breath and wait for him to speak.

~*~*~

Kakashi watched as his guards brought the prisoner forward, Tenzo pushing him into a bow at a respectful distance from Kakashi's chair. The man didn't fight it. Genma made a suggestive little wiggle of his eyebrow, the clear "look at this one" he saved for only the people he found the most attractive. Even Kakashi could admit that the prisoner was decent looking. For a criminal.

"This isn't the one I asked for," Kakashi said. He'd been given descriptions of the three men that had been captured, and he'd wanted to talk to one of the two that had been taken outside the palace grounds first.

"No, Sir," Tenzo replied, bowing in apology. "This is the one that broke into the grounds. He insisted we bring him, not his friends."

One of Kakashi's eyebrows rose. No one _volunteered_ to come before him; most would happily let their friends go first. But it didn't matter, it wouldn't affect his judgment.

"What's your name?"

"Umino Iruka, Your Highness," the man said. There was a hint of nerves in his voice, but underneath that was a quiet determination. 

"Umino Iruka," Kakashi said. "You have been charged with unlawfully breaking into the palace grounds for nefarious purposes. Tonight you will act as my servant. If you have not proven yourself innocent by midnight, you will be executed."

The prisoner snorted and Kakashi blinked at him. People did _not_ snort when he said that, they fell to their knees and begged for their lives.

"I was caught in the act, red-handed. I was going to steal from your gardens. There's no proving myself innocent. I did it. I won't lie to try to save myself."

Kakashi studied him. He didn't know how to react to this. No one had ever told him the truth before, not during one of these trials. They lied, they begged, they bribed, but they never told the truth. 

There was a willful, stubborn tilt to Iruka's chin that Kakashi wasn't used to seeing and it fascinated him. Everyone lowered their eyes when they spoke to him; they didn't stare straight at him with a challenge plain on their face.

Kakashi mentally shook himself. Any criminal could be honest when they thought it served them best, that didn't mean they were honest all the time. And it didn't mean they could be trusted. There were less than a dozen people Kakashi trusted, and even that trust had limits.

"You don't deny your crimes even if it means death?"

"No. I snuck into the palace grounds, I planned to steal from you. I did that. It was _my_ actions, _my_ decision. Mine and _mine alone_. Please don't punish my friends for my stupidity. They did nothing wrong. They actually tried to talk me out of it."

"But they didn't stop you, which makes them complicit. And you're willing to risk your life to save them?" In Kakashi's experience, people lied about their friends to save themselves. The friends that would die for you were few and far between, especially among thieves.

"Yes," Iruka said, still staring at Kakashi with determination. "If anyone has to die for this, it should be me and _only me_."

Kakashi continued to study him, until the other man shifted, clearly uncomfortable under his gaze, but he didn't back down, the challenge was still unmistakable in his eyes.

No one was that good; everyone had their price. Kakashi pushed, wanting to see how far he'd go.

"What else would you do?" he asked, voice low and suggestive. He eyed the criminal up and down and shifted his legs apart enough that someone might be able to kneel between them. 

A step behind Iruka, Genma shot Tenzo a wide-eyed look, but Tenzo just shook his head.

Iruka got the suggestion loud and clear. He turned red, sputtered, then looked outraged. "Is _that_ justice to you? Is _that_ what you make people do to _prove their innocence_?"

Kakashi had to fight the urge to bring his legs back together and sit up straighter, it took effort to keep his tone cold. It’d been a long time since anyone outside his advisers had voiced disapproval of his actions, and never so emphatically. "I don’t have sex with criminals," Kakashi sneered. 

"But you, what? Allow them to bribe you with blowjobs? Let them think you'll reduce their sentence if they suck you off?" Iruka’s face was still bright red with anger and embarrassment. 

"No, but some offer," Kakashi said, voice casual. He didn't say that he'd never asked before, that he didn't know why he had this time. A criminal didn’t deserve that kind of explanation. 

"Of course they would. Who wouldn’t to save their life?" 

"You didn’t." 

Iruka opened his mouth to say something then snapped it shut. 

"People who think they can bribe me, with sex or other things, can be bribed themselves. They can’t be trusted." 

"People do what they have to in order to stay alive." 

"Exactly." 

Iruka glared, Kakashi stared back. For one brief moment, Kakashi felt like he was the one who needed to prove something here, but he pushed it aside. 

"You still have the rest of the night to serve me and prove your innocence." 

Iruka gave him a disgusted look. "I will serve you if I must, but I have _nothing_ to prove to you." 

Kakashi shrugged his acknowledgment. "The guards will take you to the kitchen. Bring my meal." With that, he turned back to his book.

" _Please_ ," Iruka said sharply. 

Kakashi looked up again. He'd heard that word quite often in these situations, but never in that tone. "What?" 

"It’s what you say when you ask for something. Bring my meal, _please_." 

Kakashi blinked after Iruka, who'd turned on his heel and walked out the door, Tenzo hurrying to catch up. After they'd left, Genma looked at Kakashi and grinned. 

"Oh, I _like_ him. Can we keep him?"

Kakashi scowled. He would _not_ be _keeping_ a thief, even if he did make Kakashi curious in a way no one else had in years.

People who didn't follow the laws were trash, and Kakashi wouldn't let them near the people he needed to protect. He wouldn't let himself trust anyone like that again.

~*~*~

Iruka and Tenzo returned a short time later with Kakashi’s meal. Tenzo nodded once to Kakashi then left the room, sliding the door shut behind him. As captain of Kakashi's personal guard, he knew the routine.

Iruka watched him go then looked around the room, realizing they’d been left alone. His eyes narrowed with suspicion and more than a little disgust. 

Once again Kakashi felt the need to defend himself, to defend these trials, but he refused to give in to it. He didn't force anyone to do anything, and furthermore, he needed to test people this way. If he wanted to see what they were capable of, he needed to be alone with them. When guards were there, people's behavior was different than when they thought he was unprotected. That was when people showed their true colors.

He waved Iruka towards a low table and watched as he set out the various dishes the kitchen servants had given him. To his credit, his hands weren't shaking. His movements were confident and precise, like this was a regular job. As he worked, his eyebrows furrowed and he seemed to slip into deep thought, either ignoring or not noticing Kakashi's eye on him.

Kakashi had been holding these tests for years now. For crimes that threatened the palace, its residents, or the kingdom itself, there was no official trial. Kakashi was judge, jury, and executioner. Those that tried to bribe or kill him in order to escape were undeserving of mercy. And nearly everyone did one or both.

Test after test, Kakashi's beliefs were confirmed. Everyone lied, everyone betrayed. Over and over again, instead of finding a way to prove themselves, the criminals tried to kill him in order to save their own hides. Many of them tried to seduce him, thinking if they slept with him, he would let them go. He didn't touch any of them. But the ones that truly proved his beliefs were the ones that tried a combination of both, first offering him sex or money and then trying to kill him when they realized their ploy wasn't working. 

Kakashi killed the would-be murderers himself. The lucky ones were banished from the kingdom on fear of death should they ever return. There were very few lucky ones. 

Either way, no one ever returned home after Kakashi tested them. They were killed or exiled. And with each person gone, Kakashi's reputation as a cold-blooded killer grew.

No one had ever proven their innocence, though they'd all tried. Every single one lied. Even if Kakashi had all the evidence in the world to prove them guilty, they still said they hadn't done the crime. It wasn't them, people must be mistaken, they would never do anything like that.

Iruka had been the first to admit he was guilty. There was something oddly genuine about him that Kakashi hadn't seen in ages. But that couldn't be trusted, Kakashi had been tricked before.

Kakashi stood and made his way over to the table, watching Iruka's body language as he drew closer. He tensed, but continued to arrange dishes on the table.

Kakashi lowered himself to the floor, sitting on a cushion in front of the myriad of dishes Iruka had spread out for him. 

As Kakashi reached for his chopsticks, Iruka set a small glass bottle holding a clear liquid in front of him with a sharp click. It was full and unopened.

"One of the serving girls slipped this to me," Iruka said, an edge to his voice. "Along with a hastily whispered sob story about the horrible things you do to her. Perhaps you know which one I'm talking about? Black hair, red eyes?"

Kakashi stared at him. "Do you think you should get a reward for not poisoning me?"

"Oh, don't get me wrong. I'd be willing to help an actual serving girl with such a story. If you were raping your servants, poisoning would be the least you deserved. That is, assuming the bottle even contains poison."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, not sure where to start. Iruka had just admitted he'd kill him under the right circumstances. And even though he thought Kakashi had tried to extort sex from him earlier, he apparently didn't believe the story he'd been told. "An _actual_ serving girl?"

"You see, this one had calluses that looked less like something you'd get from washing dishes all day and a lot more like she frequently handles kunai. But I suspect you know that already."

He'd seen this played out multiple different ways. Some criminals tried to poison him, some told him about Kurenai to try to win his favor, all of them had heard more than enough rumors about him to believe the worst. No one had figured out the scheme and confronted him about it. Kakashi was grudgingly impressed, but he wasn't going to admit that to a thief.

"And you know how kunai calluses look because?"

Iruka shrugged, spreading his hands before him, calluses clear on the palms and fingers. There were many things that could cause calluses like that, not just working with weapons. Anyone who did manual labor had their fair share as well, but Kakashi didn't think Iruka was a laborer and there was one callus around his index finger that looked like he regularly spun kunai around it. Kakashi had a similar one on his own hand. 

Kakashi narrowed his eyes. Most civilians didn't learn how to handle kunai, and he knew the face of every single soldier in his army. Iruka wasn't one of them. He wasn't just a thief, he was someone with weapons training that had snuck onto the palace grounds.

"It's a hobby," Iruka said.

"Not a hobby most people have."

Iruka shrugged again. "I learned from my parents."

"They were soldiers?"

Iruka studied him, and Kakashi could feel himself being weighed to see if he was worth answering. After a moment, Iruka spoke. "They served under King Minato and died during the Invasion."

Kakashi hadn't expected that. 

The Invasion. Kakashi remembered it all too clearly. It had led to Minato's death and a sixteen-year-old Kakashi being put into a position of power he'd never wanted or been trained for. The position was supposed to be temporary, if sixteen years could be considered temporary, but he couldn't remember the last time someone had called him Regent, not King. Another eight years, and hopefully he'd be free of the title altogether. 

Kakashi mumbled the traditional prayer for fallen soldiers under his breath and Iruka covered his surprise by doing the same. 

"You went to an orphanage after that?" Kakashi asked, curious despite himself.

Again that considering look, then after a few moments, an answer. "I was twelve. I didn't know there were places to go. I learned to manage on my own with friends in a similar position."

Kakashi bit back the urge to apologize. That had been his fault, his responsibility. Too many orphans from the war had slipped through the cracks as Kakashi had learned to juggle all the duties of leadership. But instead of saying that, he forced himself back into his bored, disinterested persona. He wasn't on trial here, Iruka was. Kakashi didn't need to know his backstory. This conversation had gone on long enough. People had tried to tell him sob stories before, in the hope that they would sway him. They never worked.

"Wait there," Kakashi said, gesturing to where Iruka was kneeling by the table, "in case I need anything."

Iruka raised an eyebrow at him.

"Wait there, _please_ ," Kakashi said, the word mocking and sarcastic on his tongue.

Iruka made a displeased tsking noise, but he did as he was told, sitting back on his heels and waiting.

Satisfied with the reaction, Kakashi opened his book again, reading as he began to eat, moving his mask aside just enough to take bites, but not enough for Iruka to see his face. He focused far more on the book than on the meal, but even then, the majority of his attention was on the man kneeling next to him, an odd puzzle that he had one night to solve.

~*~*~

Growing up on the streets, food had become precious, something that should never be wasted. But for the first time since the Invasion, Iruka wanted to throw it. Specifically, into the King's face.

The King looked bored now, all but drowning in his massive robes. 

There was a sharp knife still sitting on the tray Iruka had brought into the room. He hadn't bothered putting it on the table. None of the food was the kind that required cutting. The knife had one purpose, and that was the exact same as the little bottle of _something_ he'd been given. The "serving girl" had told him it was a strong poison; colorless, odorless, and flavorless. He suspected if he'd opened it, it would have been something harmless as well. Like water.

The King appeared distracted by his book, but Iruka doubted there was a moment he didn't know exactly what Iruka was doing.

With effort, he got his temper back under control. He was messing this up. Deliberate baiting aside, he still needed to figure a way out of this, or at the very least, a way to keep his friends from being killed after him. Yelling at the King was not going to accomplish that.

From the angle he was sitting, he could read bits and pieces of the King's book. He caught fragments of sentences, like flashes of skin, tantalizing, making him want to see more.

An idea started to form in his head. It was stupid, foolish, _crazy_. But then again, that was what had landed him here in the first place. Maybe it could be what got him out too.

~*~*~

After dinner, Iruka trailed the King to the palace baths. The humid air in the room made his clothes cling to his skin as soon as they stepped inside.

The King stared at him expectantly, head tilted in something of a smug challenge like he thought Iruka would protest again. It took Iruka a minute to realize what he wanted, but when he did, his cheeks burned. The only times he'd undressed other adults, it'd been a much more mutual thing.

  
[ ](https://i.ibb.co/S6s1x89/ichaicha-nights-01.png)  


He helped peel the King out of his clothing, embroidered piece by embroidered piece, layer of silk by layer of silk, down to a shirt of lightweight mesh armor. Iruka doubted the kitchen knife would have done much against that shirt. He wondered how many people had tried to stab the King during dinner, only to realize that he was protected from the worst of it.

It hadn't protected him from everything though. His body was all hard muscles and a patchwork of scars, clearly that of a warrior, not what Iruka would have expected from a king. He would have thought he'd be softer, less sinew and strength. One tattoo decorated his upper arm, a swirling design that Iruka recognized as the symbol of the former King's personal guard. He'd heard that rumor too, that the man before him had been a trusted guard of the former king, right up until he'd single-handedly slaughtered the king and all his family.

Iruka's cheeks burned even hotter as he undid the King's fundoshi, trying to keep as much distance as possible between them while he unwound it, trying not to touch anything he shouldn't. The worst of it was the way the King watched him, disdainful and amused, like he was enjoying Iruka's discomfort.

That only left the cloth that covered the King's mouth and the patch over his eye. Iruka hesitated, remembering the rumors about how anyone who saw the King's face was killed immediately. But the King didn't tell him to remove it, instead walking over to a small wooden stool in the washing area and sitting on it.

"Wash me," he ordered, then gave a small snort before adding an insincere " _please_." 

Iruka gritted his teeth and rolled back his sleeves, trying not to think too much about what he was doing, instead focusing on keeping his clothing as dry as possible and not getting soap on himself. 

The King seemed unbothered by his nudity or by having a stranger wash him, but Iruka's cheeks burned at the intimacy of it.

He didn't wash more than halfway up the King's thighs, or lower on his torso than his waist. The entire time, he waited for the order to do the rest, but it didn't come. He turned away on the pretense of getting a bucket of hot water for rinsing, and the King used the time to wash the parts he hadn't. Iruka held back a sigh of relief. Small mercies, he supposed.

Iruka rinsed the soap off the King's body, again trying to avoid getting his own clothing wet, though not succeeding entirely. 

Then the King rose and walked over to the large bath, stepping in and lowering himself into the hot water slowly, gesturing for Iruka to come stand beside him.

The King soaked with his head tilted back, exposing his long, pale neck. His visible eye was closed, making him look almost asleep. Even though his face was still covered, a blade for shaving sat on a small table near the bath, glittering in the lantern-lit room. The situation was provocative, all but inviting an attack.

Iruka wanted to scoff at it. Like anyone would shave while they were in the bath.

It wasn't hard to see the pattern, to realize that the King was trying to lure people into attacking him. Iruka didn't bother considering it. He wasn't a murderer, and even if he had wanted to try it, one look at the King's body proved how foolish that would be. No one ended up alive with that many battle scars without being able to fight. There had to be at least one dead body for each of those scars, probably more than one.

Instead, Iruka took a deep breath then asked the question he'd been thinking about since dinner.

"Would you like to hear a story?"

The King cracked open his visible eye. He'd left his book behind in his rooms, this might be Iruka's only chance.

He shrugged one shoulder, water rolling over it as it broke the surface, ripples spreading out to the edge. "Why not." His eyelid slid shut again like he didn't care what Iruka did.

Iruka had thought about this, about what kind of story he would tell. He had no clues to go on except the orange book and the offer to let Iruka bribe him sexually. Even if that was a trap too, Iruka would place money on the King being at least slightly interested in men. He was going to have to bet a lot more than just money, but he couldn't imagine the King being willing to take sexual favors from male criminals if he were completely uninterested. He also had no wife, though rumor said it was because he killed all the women he slept with. 

Iruka had never read the book, but he'd heard things whispered about it, enough to know that all the couples in it were straight. He needed something the King wasn't getting from the book if he wanted to keep him entertained. As far as he knew, there was no gay version of the book on the market. If there were, it'd be scandalous enough that Iruka would have heard of it. 

Which brought him to his plan. His foolish, crazy, _stupid_ plan. One born from countless nights telling himself stories to distract from the growling of his stomach after the Invasion, one developed with each orphan he'd taken care of since then, trying to replace the stories they'd never hear again with some of his own. Though none of those stories were anything like the one he was about to tell.

"This story is about a boy from a small, snowy village and the demon who fell in love with him."

The King's eye opened once again, studying Iruka. It was unnerving, that gaze, but Iruka didn't let it stop him. He started to tell his story.

~*~*~

Kakashi wasn't sure what Iruka's move was here. When he'd asked if Kakashi wanted to hear a story, Kakashi had assumed Iruka was going to tell him a sob story about his own childhood or some thinly veiled fable about wicked kings getting their comeuppance. What he got was something entirely different.

It was a story about a boy who lived a life of quiet happiness with his family until one day that happiness came crashing down around him in sharp, shattered ice. Seeing his mother killed by his father, then killing his father with his newly discovered, uncontrolled magical abilities. Running from the mob that chased after him because of those abilities, doing anything and everything he needed to do to survive. Realizing from far too young an age that the world around him found him useful for his body alone and if he wanted food or shelter, that was all he had to give.

It was not the sort of story Kakashi would have imagined Iruka telling. He had seemed so proper and uptight when Kakashi had suggested he offer sex in return for his freedom. Kakashi would have labeled him a prude or a virgin from the way he'd reacted as he'd removed Kakashi's clothing and washed him. But he didn't shy away from the darkest parts of the story. His descriptions of violence were vivid and gory. The parts dealing with the boy's forced prostitution didn't try to make the encounters sexual in nature, but instead focused on the emotional toll the boy suffered. It left Kakashi's stomach twisted with disgust, just as it was intended to. The story was dark and entirely too real.

Kakashi stood abruptly, water rolling down his body and splashing out of the bath. Next to him, Iruka jumped back, whether to avoid the water or him, Kakashi wasn't sure. 

He looked at Kakashi, wary, questions clear in his eyes.

"I've bathed for long enough," Kakashi said, once again feeling the need to explain himself and this time giving in. "You may finish your story back in my quarters."

Iruka nodded and offered him a towel. Kakashi stood there, looking at him until he got the hint again. Cheeks stained red, he toweled Kakashi dry. Like with his washing, his motions were carefully unstimulating and he avoided Kakashi's groin like he was carrying diseases. 

For a moment Kakashi considered pushing him, seeing what he'd do if he said to dry him _properly. All of him._ But he let the idea go without acting on it, grabbing the towel from Iruka to finish the job while Iruka looked away. 

Iruka helped him dress in the lighter robes for sleeping that his servants had left in the room. Kakashi never bothered to wrap himself in a new fundoshi before bed, but for a moment, he considered that too, amused by the idea of how flustered it would probably make the man if he had to do it.

There was tension in Iruka's body as he silently went through the motions of dressing Kakashi and following him back to his rooms. It made Kakashi wonder what he was thinking, if it was because of the embarrassment of waiting on someone so intimately, or if he was regretting the story he had started, if he thought he'd gone too far and Kakashi had disliked it. 

Back in his quarters, Kakashi did not immediately pick up his book like he normally would have. It was the last hour before midnight that people got the most desperate and they always thought he wasn't paying attention when he was reading. 

He settled himself on a low chair and gestured for Iruka to kneel on one of the cushions in front of him. Iruka knelt on the floor a little distance away instead, avoiding the cushions, but stayed silent.

Kakashi stared at him, realizing he wasn't going to start again until he was asked.

"Continue," he ordered.

Iruka scowled at the lack of courtesy, but he started his story.

The story jumped to the demon. Born from mist, he killed easily, caring nothing at all for those around him. He was cruel and vicious to a point never seen before. He took what he wanted, used what he needed, and regretted none of his actions.

The demon found the boy nearly dead, but even then he could see his strength, how powerful he could become, what an amazing tool he would be. He took the boy in and sharpened him, shaping him into the weapon he needed. The boy offered his body in payment, but the demon refused, disgusted that the world would use such a beautiful tool in that way. 

He trained the boy until he turned into the perfect weapon for the demon to wield, and the boy followed him loyally, doing everything in his power to make the demon's life better. 

The boy became a strong young man, as delicate and beautiful as he was deadly. The demon was proud of his creation in a way that he'd never felt before. Each time he looked at the boy, he felt pleased and possessive, greedy and jealous. His weapon was _his alone_ , perfect for him like no other could be. Wanting to know everything it was capable of was only natural. Only a fool would use a weapon he didn't truly know.

"But you see," Iruka said, "the entire time the demon was molding the boy, changing him into the ideal weapon, the boy was changing the demon as well, in ways the demon wouldn't realize until it was too late."

"For all the years they'd been together, it started slowly," Iruka continued, his voice getting a little lower, caressing each word a little more. Kakashi's toes wanted to curl in anticipation. He knew where this was going now. 

During the day, the boy found any excuse to touch him, checking to see the condition of his body after they trained together, removing his clothing, bathing him.

Kakashi's mind supplied mental images of Iruka doing the same to him just an hour ago, but he ignored them and focused on the story. It had been nothing like what Iruka was describing anyway.

The boy had bathed the demon for years, but now his fingers lingered on the demon's skin, his eyes followed the lines of his body, the hunger in them unconcealed. The demon was aware of how much older the boy was now, how his body had matured and grown into something strong and beautiful. He was never more aware of it then at night, when they lay beside each other wherever their journey had taken them, and the boy thought the demon was asleep.

The sounds of blankets and clothes rustling and skin rubbing against skin were loud in the night, as were the boy's muffled pants and gasps. The demon didn't let himself watch, but he listened and breathed in the sharp scent of pleasure.

For the first time in the demon's life, he didn't immediately reach out and take the thing he wanted, he didn't just use it and throw it away. He waited for the boy to come to him.

There was weeks of this, an exquisite sort of torture the demon was starting to like far too much. Even without looking, he could picture what was happening. He memorized the rhythm the boy used most often, the hitches in his breath that meant he was about to come. After a few weeks, the scent of some kind of oil joined the natural scent of his release, as did the sound of fingers working inside a body, not just stroking a hard cock.

The demon looked forward to it each night, waiting for it with anticipation, listening for every small noise, imagining it clearly in his mind. Each night his dick grew hard, but he didn't touch himself. He let the ache of it build in his balls, let the desire to possess grow hot and wild, and still he waited.

He waited until one night, when the boy's gasps were louder than usual, when the sound of skin against skin was more frantic, when instead of coming with a cut off groan, the boy gasped out the demon's name.

The demon turned, cock hard as steel, balls aching. He ran his hand under the blanket of the bed they were sharing and dragged his fingers over the boy's stomach, enjoying the way the boy shivered at the touch, the muscles of his stomach jumping, the shattered moan it pulled from him. His fingers ran through the boy's release, smearing it over his skin.

"'Yes?' the demon asked, his voice a low growl in the dark," Iruka said, his voice low as well. "The boy shifted under the covers, his legs falling open in invitation. In the dim light of the room, he looked at the demon, his eyes dark with want. His fingers gripped onto the demon's arms. He opened his mouth to speak."

A loud chime started to sound outside the palace, nearly causing Kakashi to jump. His heart was pounding, though not from the sounding of the time. He shifted, adjusting his robe across his lap. He wasn't particularly hard, but that didn't mean his dick was completely uninterested in Iruka's story either.

Iruka still knelt in front of him, though he was looking out the nearest window, face carefully blank.

"Continue," Kakashi commanded.

Iruka turned and looked at him, challenge back in his eyes. "It's midnight," he said. "I'm done serving you. What's my sentence?"

Kakashi tried not to sputter at that, but Iruka was right. The clock outside finished sounding the hour. Midnight. Kakashi had lost track of time, too wrapped up in the story Iruka was spinning.

He realized what Iruka was doing and found himself wanting to chuckle. It was refreshing, really. Smart and resourceful, using Kakashi's weakness for smut against him. Iruka wasn't trying to bribe or seduce Kakashi, but he was buying for more time. No one had tried that in an honest way before. 

Kakashi weighed his options.

"If I hold off on sentencing you and allow you to serve me again, will you finish the story?" he asked after a moment.

Iruka studied him back. "Will you promise not to sentence my friends until after you have sentenced me?"

 _Interesting_ , Kakashi thought. Once again, Iruka seemed more concerned about his friends than his own welfare.

Kakashi considered then nodded. "I'm willing to wait to sentence them."

Iruka nodded in return. "Then I will continue the story tomorrow night."

Kakashi raised his voice and called his guards. Genma stepped in a moment later.

"Take him back to the cells," Kakashi commanded. "Bring him again tomorrow night."

Genma did a poor job of keeping the surprise from his face, but he caught himself quickly. "Yes, Sir." 

As Genma led Iruka out of the room, Tenzo looked in quickly, having overheard the command. He shot a questioning glance at Kakashi before he left, but Kakashi didn't bother responding to it.

It hadn't escaped his notice that Iruka had said he would _continue_ the story, not finish it. He grinned under his mask. This might end up being very interesting indeed. Even if the man was a criminal, Kakashi couldn't see any harm in allowing him to finish his tale. It'd be another night, two max, before Iruka finished, and then Kakashi could sentence him. But until then, Kakashi would enjoy the story he spun.

He stood and stretched then walked across the room to get his book. It'd do for now.

~*~*~

On his way back to the cells, Iruka tried not to sigh with relief. It was only one night, but it was a start. He could feel both guards shooting him glances. Clearly they had questions, but they didn't ask them. If the rumors about the King were even partially true, this hadn't happened before.

Both Izumo and Kotetsu stood abruptly when the cell was opened and Iruka walked in. They waited half a second after the door was closed and locked behind him before they rushed forward, grabbing onto him, question after question spilling from their lips.

"What happened?"

"Did he let you go?"

"Are we going to be executed?"

"How are you not dead?"

"I'm not sure," Iruka said, shaking his head, "but I think I have a plan. I'll get you two out of this, even if it's the last thing I do."

Izumo and Kotetsu exchanged glances, but they didn't look like they doubted him as much as they had the night before.

~*~*~


	2. Chapter 2

Iruka was brought to Kakashi's rooms shortly before dinner again. This time the guards had taken him to the kitchens first and he arrived carrying a heavy tray of food. After the bare minimum of a bow, he set to work, placing dishes on the table.

Kakashi watched him over the top of his book. It wouldn't be good to tip his hand, to show exactly how much he wanted to hear the rest of the story. He'd wait until after dinner and then he'd tell Iruka to continue if he hadn't volunteered to start already.

They passed the meal in silence, Kakashi pretending to be captivated by his book, though he was finding it less enthralling than usual, and Iruka kneeling quietly to the side of the table, seemingly absorbed in his own thoughts.

It wasn't until Kakashi had lowered himself into his bath, book safely back in his rooms, that his resolve broke.

"Continue your story," Kakashi said as he settled into the water. "Please," he added as an afterthought, though with less sarcasm than he'd meant to put in it.

Iruka raised an eyebrow but began, picking up where he'd left off.

Kakashi had known where the story was heading, and it wasn't long before he realized the error in his decision. Him sitting naked in the clear, hot water meant Iruka would know exactly how his words were affecting him. With nothing to focus on but the story, there'd be no hiding it. It'd give Iruka an advantage that he shouldn't allow. But telling him to stop now would make him look weak and irresolute. He went with the lesser evil and lost himself in Iruka's story.

He'd been right to think they were just getting to the good part. If the story was compelling before, now it was compelling and completely lewd. 

The sex the boy and the demon had was told in gloriously explicit detail as the boy learned how pleasurable it could be, how it wasn't all take, there was give as well. The demon fucked him with care he hadn't known he possessed, that startled him with its intensity. The boy learned as quickly in bed as he ever had during their training sessions, and the demon thought again about how perfect he was with a warm possessiveness that twisted its way through his gut.

Iruka spun a tale of night after night of pleasure until his voice was dry from overuse and the water in the bath had cooled. 

Finally Kakashi stood, ignoring the way Iruka's eyes flickered for the briefest of moments to his half-hard cock before he blushed and looked away. It was an interesting dichotomy. The man was willing to tell him an absolutely filthy tale with only the faintest of blushes, but seeing Kakashi naked made him turn bright red. A weaker person might consider walking around nude just to see exactly how red he could get. 

Iruka stood in front of Kakashi, knuckles white where his fingers were twisted in a towel, hesitating, his blush growing darker. Kakashi grabbed the towel and wrapped it around his waist. He wouldn't make someone dry him when he was obviously turned on. That edged near a line Kakashi wasn't willing to cross. As he dried himself, he swore he heard a small sigh of relief.

Iruka didn't pick up the thread of his story as Kakashi dressed or they returned to his rooms.

On his way in, Kakashi told Tenzo to bring a second cup and a pitcher of water. A surprised look flickered across his face, but he quickly turned away to do as he was asked. Iruka seemed equally surprised. Kakashi didn't need to justify himself to either of them. Hearing such a story told in a parched voice would kill some of the effect.

Genma looked him over thoroughly, eyes lingering on his crotch. The light robes Kakashi was wearing did nothing to hide the fact that he was still mildly turned on. Kakashi raised an eyebrow at him, and Genma went back to his post outside Kakashi's door. He was smirking, but at least he had the sense to do it at an angle Iruka was unlikely to see.

After Tenzo returned with a drink, Iruka continued his story.

It shifted again, because even if the demon found pleasure in his weapon, it wasn't enough to sate his ambitions. He wanted more, wanted power and control. And in order to get that, he needed money. 

The boy stayed by his side through all of it; through the deals with men the demon would have rather killed but had to do business with instead, through jobs that were beneath their skill level but paid too much to refuse, through one hundred and one slights that the demon would repay later. Never once did the boy complain and each night they fell into bed together, and for a short while the demon forgot about power and ambition and money. They continued this way for months, everything going according to the demon's plan.

"At least," Iruka said, "until the last job they took together."

As if on cue, the toll of midnight started to ring out. Kakashi wanted to curse, or maybe have harsh words with the clock keeper.

Iruka fell silent, staring at him, waiting for his judgment. 

"If I hold off on sentencing you again, will you continue tomorrow?" Kakashi gritted out.

"And my friends?"

"And your friends."

Iruka nodded. "I will."

Kakashi called for his guards. 

Kurenai entered instead.

For the second time in as many minutes, Kakashi wanted to curse. Kurenai was _not_ one of his guards.

She grinned pleasantly at Kakashi, knowing full well he didn't want her there.

" _You_ ," Iruka sputtered. "You're one of his guards? I knew you weren't a serving girl."

Kurenai turned her smile on Iruka. "Military commander. And I'll be seeing you back to your cell tonight."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow at her, he hadn't given any orders yet. She just raised an eyebrow back.

"Unless you'd like me to arrange the execution?"

"No," Kakashi said shortly. "Have him brought back tomorrow night."

She grinned even wider and Kakashi saw his future with sudden clarity. She must have found out that he'd given Iruka another night, which meant all his other commanders and advisers knew as well. There'd be no end to the questions he'd be getting at tomorrow's council meeting. He was just surprised no one had burst into his rooms yet, loudly proclaiming the Beauty of Youthful Passions.

Iruka must have picked up on the tension between them, he'd started inching his way towards the door. "I'll just... see myself back then?" he said. "I remember how to get to the cells."

"Oh, no. For security reasons, I need to see you there," Kurenai said, stepping towards Iruka and grabbing him by the elbow, though her eyes were fixed on Kakashi. "We can chat along the way."

They left together, but not before she shot Kakashi one last, knowing look. She was feeling him out, seeing how he'd react. Kakashi gave her nothing. This was none of her business, it was none of the council's business. He didn't need them interfering in his affairs.

He could guess what she was assuming. Genma had made it equally clear how he thought Iruka had earned his extra night. Kakashi could admit Iruka was attractive, but he'd sentenced attractive prisoners before, most of whom had tried to seduce him. Kakashi wasn't interested in criminals, they weren't even remotely sexually desirable. He just wanted to hear the rest of Iruka's story. That was it, there was nothing more to it. Iruka would finish his story, Kakashi would sentence him, and then the few people that Kakashi allowed close to him wouldn't be able to walk around with looks that said they knew _exactly_ what Kakashi was doing and it was about time too. Hadn't they told him ages ago that he needed to find someone?

More than one of them had casually suggested Kakashi might enjoy some _company_ over the years. But Kakashi didn't trust anyone enough to be in a relationship, and a pretty pair of eyes and a talent for telling dirty stories wasn't going to change that. Especially not when those things belonged to a criminal.

He'd listen to the rest of Iruka's story, and that would be the end of it.

~*~*~

"So," the woman said as she walked Iruka back to his cell. "You were caught breaking into the palace gardens."

Iruka watched her carefully. She wore embroidered red and white robes, her long, dark hair spilling over her shoulders. At first glance, she looked like a noble woman, but there was something in the way she moved that made him think she could kill him in as many ways as the King. He couldn't imagine how anyone could believe she was just a serving girl.

"Yes," he said. There was no point in denying it. "I was going to steal a piece of fruit."

"Why?"

Iruka huffed. "Because I'm an idiot with no sense of self-preservation or ability to say no to bad ideas?"

She chuckled, a warm, friendly sound in the cold, gilded corridors. "Bet gone wrong?"

Iruka nodded. 

"And what do you do when you aren't committing reckless acts of unlawful fruit picking?"

"I... sort of, teach."

"Sort of?"

"It's nothing official. I don't work at one of the schools or anything."

She glanced at him sideways for a moment, like she could see into him and read the words he wasn't saying. "In one of the poorer areas?"

Iruka nodded again. "Orphans and street kids, mainly. Trying to keep them off the street and get them enough skills to get a job when they're older. Though, there have been a lot fewer recently."

She hummed quietly. "Kakashi has been working on that over the last few years."

"Kakashi?"

" _The King_."

"Oh." Obviously the King had a name. Iruka just hadn't thought about it.

"I hear you've been _convincing_ Kakashi to keep you alive."

Iruka sputtered at the sudden change in topic. The way she said _convincing_ carried enough innuendo to make his cheeks burn. "I'm not doing anything like _that_."

"Oh, I know. Kakashi would never allow it."

"Then why did he offer?"

She shrugged. "He's never tried that one before."

"So it _was_ a test?"

"Probably."

"Is _this_ a test?"

"Not one of Kakashi's." Her smile took on a slightly more dangerous cast.

Iruka blinked at her. She was testing him. But why? 

She didn't seem inclined to share her reasoning.

The rest of their walk was filled with small talk and pleasantries that left Iruka that much more confused.

When they reached his cell door, she unlocked it and held it open for him. As he stepped inside, she said, "He might not seem like the type, but he has a soft spot for loud, obnoxious, overenthusiastic characters."

With that, she shut and locked the door behind him.

Iruka stared at it for a moment, still bemused by the conversation they'd just had, not sure what to make of it.

But at least he had a start for his next story.

~*~*~

The following day, the tray Iruka carried into Kakashi's rooms contained not just two cups, but two sets of dishes as well. Kakashi would need to have a word with his kitchen staff.

But Iruka only put out one set, which was fine as far as Kakashi was concerned. It meant he could continue his story while Kakashi ate. He could have waited until he was in the bath again to tell him to start, but he decided it'd be more interesting to see what Iruka would do when given extra time to fill. It had nothing to do with him being too impatient to wait an additional hour to hear more. He was simply upping the difficulty for Iruka. 

Iruka told the story of the boy and the demon's last job. How they worked for a crime boss that was just begging for the demon to kill him, but the pay put the demon that much closer to his goals. They'd never had problems in the past. Every single one of their jobs had gone smoothly, their combined strength proving too much for even the greatest of opponents. But this time, they'd met their match. 

The demon was defeated, saved from death only by the boy's quick thinking. Maybe he should have taken that as a sign this job wasn't worth it, but the demon pressed on, now motivated not just by his desire for money, but by the need to defeat the man that had nearly killed him. The boy cared for him and the demon healed. They spent their last few nights together.

Kakashi and Iruka had moved into the baths by the time the boy and the demon were facing their opponents again and their final battle carried them through Kakashi's bath and back to his rooms. Iruka's descriptions of fighting were just as vivid and detailed as his descriptions of sex. They showed a head for tactics and a knowledge of battle that Kakashi would not have expected from someone outside his military commanders.

Iruka didn't shy away from the raw emotions of the boy sacrificing himself and the demon again thought of how perfect his tool had been, exactly as he'd trained the boy to be. But then the crime boss came, ridiculing them for their weakness, and his opponents' words stirred something inside the demon that he'd never felt before. He realized the extent of his loss, how he hadn't just lost a tool, the boy had been so much more than that. He'd been the one truly good thing the demon had ever created.

His blood boiled, rage and anguish overtook him, and he focused all of it on the crime boss and his men. He left a swath of death in his wake, as he always had, but this time it was a suicide mission, just as he wanted it to be. 

He killed the crime boss, though he sustained fatal injuries in order to do so. His last wish was to see the boy again before he died, and his opponents were the ones that granted him that wish.

They buried them side by side, knowing they would find each other again in the afterlife, and legend said that on the day of their death each year, it snowed where they'd died even though the weather there was too hot for snow. A silent, cold memorial for a boy who controlled ice and the demon who became human again because of his love.

Silence fell as Iruka finished his story. There was still over an hour to midnight. Kakashi's mind spun, trying to decide what to do about Iruka's sentence. He'd thought he'd have another night, that he could decide the following day.

The moment stretched long between them as they studied each other. 

Finally Iruka spoke.

"Would you like to hear another story?" he asked.

Before Kakashi could think through the consequences, he answered. 

"Yes."

~*~*~

It continued like that for the better part of two weeks.

Iruka's next story was about an invincible sand monster who felt physical pain and then love for the first time. There was just as much raw emotion, sex, and violence in the story as before, but this one didn't end in tragedy. Instead the monster learned that he didn't have to kill, that he could be loved. He became leader of the people who'd once feared him. There was more of a comedic element to it as well, largely due to the overenthusiastic nature of the monster's love interest, which surprised Kakashi at first, but he found he enjoyed it. Iruka had a quirky sense of humor that Kakashi could appreciate. 

The love interest reminded Kakashi a little too much of one of his commanders, one that Iruka shouldn't have met yet. Every time Kakashi tried to imagine the character, all he could see was a younger, smaller version of Gai, which did kill some of his enjoyment during the sex scenes, but also helped keep him from getting hard as he bathed while Iruka told the dirtiest parts of the story. But even without that stimulation, Kakashi found the story entertaining and enjoyable, and when Iruka finished it a few nights later and asked if he'd like to hear another, once again he didn't hesitate; he just said yes.

After that, there was a story of orphans who were trained to be killers without emotions but still fell in love, one of distant cousins who fought to save their clan from destruction only to be torn apart by it themselves, and then a story of two warriors who became villains willing to destroy the world in order to remake it because of what it had done to their lover.

Each story was just as glorious as the last, explicit and engaging, and Kakashi couldn't get enough of them. Iruka always ended at a place that left Kakashi wanting to hear more, or he'd finish up a story with plenty of time to start a new one. Every time he asked if Kakashi would like to hear another story, Kakashi said yes before he could think better of it.

The stories were in turns harsh and dark, titillating and provocative, poignant and painful. They left Kakashi tense during the action scenes, imagining himself on the battlefield, and turned on during the sex scenes, liking the way Iruka's voice could caress each word, how he could say such filthy things yet still blush each time he had to undress Kakashi. More than once he felt the sting of tears in his eyes, but he did not let them fall. It'd been a long time since anything had made him cry, he wasn't going to start again now.

Kakashi found himself reading his book less often, much preferring Iruka's stories. Maybe he should hire a scribe to record them so he'd have copies after he finally sentenced the man. But he didn't like the idea of having someone else in the room as Iruka told his stories either.

Each night, Kakashi would wonder if it'd be the end. If Iruka would finally run out of stories to tell. And each night, Iruka continued.

The kitchen still sent two sets of dishes, no matter how many times Kakashi instructed them not to. If he ever found out which one of his commanders was countermanding him, there would be words. Not that it would help. But Iruka never ate with him, instead using the time to continue his tales.

Kakashi knew rumors of the criminal he'd kept for weeks, not just one night, were flying around the palace. He didn't care. Iruka's stories would end eventually and he'd sentence him. Once that happened, people would realize nothing was going on, and things would return to normal.

But until then, Kakashi would enjoy himself.

~*~*~

Iruka was unsure how much longer he'd be able to keep this up. There were only so many tragic, tawdry stories he could tell. He spent his days brainstorming ideas, sometimes with the help of Izumo and Kotetsu, but mostly on his own. He'd told them he was telling the King stories to entertain him and keep them all alive, but he hadn't told them exactly what kind of stories.

He hadn't seen any indication that the King was feeling lenient towards him. He'd hope that they might talk between his tales, that the King might get to know him, that he might find some way to convince him not to kill his friends. But so far, he was exactly where he'd started. 

The King kept him speaking all night, but only to tell his stories. He was cold and aloof through most of it, uncaring about the things around him as far as Iruka could tell. Sure, there were times he was clearly aroused by the stories, but that didn't mean anything. Iruka had no doubt that if he stopped to debate the merits of sending his friends home, the King would sentence him right then and there and move on to his friends the next night, regardless of whether or not his dick was hard.

Thankfully they were kept clean and well-fed, as comfortable as they could be, given that they were confined and thought they might be killed at some point in the near future. At least, for all the rumors swirling around about the King, he didn't treat his prisoners inhumanely.

More nights than not, as Iruka was escorted back to his cell, he was joined by one of a handful of people he was coming to recognize but still didn't know their names. Some of them were in simple guards uniforms, most of them were not. Often there was the guard with the creepy eyes and the other guard that seemed to have an oral fixation. But there was also the red-eyed woman that had given him the "poison," a tall man who smoked, and another man who had entirely too much energy and whose bright green robes were disturbingly tight. And on one very strange night, an old man who seemed far too interested in the dirtiest parts of the stories Iruka was telling. 

They all asked him questions as they walked, mostly personal ones, and Iruka figured why not answer them. He had nothing to hide and maybe one of them would be able to convince the King that he should be pardoned. 

Oddly enough, most of them seemed amused by the situation. More than once, they'd slipped him hints about things the King liked. He took everything that was offered and used it to his best advantage. Though, a few of them didn't seem to think he was _only_ telling the King stories no matter how many times he insisted.

If anything, they seemed to be rooting for him, though he didn't know what to make of that. They also seemed to genuinely like the King, which gave Iruka hope that he wasn't truly cruel after all. Surely a tyrant wouldn't inspire such loyalty in good people.

But even for all their helpful suggestions, Iruka couldn't see how this ended.

He didn't just need their help, he needed a miracle.

~*~*~

Iruka arrived at the King's rooms with the usual tray in hand, but no one was standing guard at the door. He looked at the orally fixated guard who'd accompanied him to the kitchens and got a shrug in return.

"He was in a meeting the last I heard. Must be running late. You can go in and set up. He'll probably be here shortly." He slid the door open and Iruka walked inside, eyes narrowing. 

This had to be a test. The King hadn't given him an obvious test since the first night, but maybe he was getting bored with the stories or wanted to see if Iruka was getting desperate. Iruka was, but that didn't mean he was going to do something while he was alone in the King's rooms.

He set the tray down on the low table and began setting out its contents like he had every night for two weeks now. 

And that was when he noticed. 

He _wasn't_ alone in the King's rooms.

Iruka jumped, startled by a sudden movement out of the corner of his eye, expecting an attack. Instead, what he saw was a young boy, maybe seven or eight years old, bright blond hair and even brighter blue eyes, staring at him.

Iruka could only stare back, not understanding why there was a child in the King's rooms. He hadn't heard any rumors of him having a child and this boy looked nothing like him. He didn't look like a servant either; his bright orange and blue robes were far too fine. 

"Who are you?" the boy demanded.

"Umino Iruka."

"You're the criminal Kaka-nii-chan has been playing with?"

Iruka nearly choked, partially at being "played with" and partially at the nickname. He'd heard most of the guards and commanders call the King _Kakashi_ , but this was on a whole new level. 

"Something like that," he managed to get out. "Who are you?"

The boy raised himself up to his full, though still short, height. "Uzumaki Naruto," he said proudly.

Iruka's eyes widened as he made the connection. Uzumaki, the name of the former queen's side of the royal family. The boy was about eight years old. _Eight years_. The same amount of time that had passed since the Invasion. The Invasion that was supposed to have killed every member of the royal family. 

Iruka had seen the previous king once at a great distance, but his bright blond hair had been easily recognizable. 

"You're..." Iruka cut himself off. He didn't know how he wanted to finish that sentence. _You're supposed to be dead. You're a prince. You're the one who should be king._

It probably wasn't good to say those things out loud. There was no way he should have met this boy, a prince who wasn't supposed to exist. They'd been told he hadn't been born, that the queen had been killed before she could give birth. Which meant the King was... what? Holding him hostage? Keeping him prisoner?

His shock must have shown all too clearly, and the boy's face darkened into a scowl. 

"Everyone looks at me that way," he muttered. "Kure-chan and Gen-chan said you're special, but you're just like everyone else."

Iruka didn't feel like explaining why exactly they thought that he was _special_ to an eight year old. That was something he could wait another decade to learn about as far as Iruka was concerned.

 _That way_ , Iruka thought. How had he just looked at this kid? Recognition, sure. He must remind everyone here of King Minato. Respect, maybe? He was technically the king after all. But then it hit Iruka. He remembered wandering the streets as a kid and seeing the way everyone looked at him. 

_Pity._

_Oh, look at the poor orphan_ , those looks had said. Their eyes were full of pity, but it was always from people who were unwilling to help. 

"You're right," Iruka said. "I shouldn't look at you like that. I shouldn't treat you differently from anyone else."

Naruto's eyes stayed narrowed like he thought Iruka was just saying what he wanted to hear or making fun of him. The suspicion almost made Iruka laugh. Coloring aside, Naruto suddenly looked a lot more like the current king. 

"And if I'm treating you like anyone else, I need to ask. Are you supposed to be in here right now?" Iruka used his sternest voice, the one that got all but the most stubborn of the kids he helped to immediately run to do their studies.

"I can be wherever I want," Naruto said, brat mode fully activated. "Whatever my tutor says."

"And where exactly is this tutor of yours?"

Naruto made a disgusted face. "Like I care. He's a total creep. Ebisu was a know-it-all perv, but he's totally worse. And a really bad teacher. _And_ he's super scared of Kaka-nii-chan, which makes him even lamer."

Iruka felt his eye twitch, but Naruto didn't notice the imminent danger. He continued on. 

"The other day, Tsunade-baa-chan said only really brave people go into Kaka-nii-chan's rooms willingly. But he totally isn't brave, so he'll never come look for me in here." 

Iruka's eye twitched again. "You ran away from your tutor?"

"Yep," Naruto said, sounding more than a little proud of himself. 

"Do you do this often?" Iruka's voice was deceptively sweet. All of his students would have been diving for cover if they'd heard it.

Naruto didn't know the warning signs. He beamed. "Yep." 

Naruto probably didn't know what hit him. He'd never seen Iruka in full-fledged teacher mode. He could never have been prepared for the unstoppable force that was Iruka on a mission to make a stubborn brat learn something he thought was important.

One minute Naruto was proudly proclaiming his truancy, and the next he'd been sat down at the table with Iruka next to him. In less than ten minutes, Naruto had told him what he was currently studying and what parts he didn't understand, which was most of it, quite frankly. In five minutes more, Iruka had him set up with parchment and a pen from Kakashi's desk and they were working through simple math problems in order to find out where exactly Naruto's strengths and weaknesses were.

Naruto grumbled the entire time, but he did the work. And whenever they came across a problem he couldn't do, Iruka showed him how to solve it step by step, over and over again until Naruto got it. He wasn't the quickest student, but once he figured out the theory behind something, he didn't need to be shown again.

Iruka lost track of time, but the little light that had been in the sky when he'd reach the rooms had long since faded. Naruto had settled in beside him, remarkably focused on the task at hand.

It felt so normal, like he was back in his small house, teaching the local kids. He could almost forget where he was, why he was there, who the kid next to him was. Occasionally he'd look up from the papers and blink as he realized how different his surroundings truly were, how far from home this was. He pushed those thoughts aside and focused on the lesson.

He almost didn't notice when the doors to the room slid open.

But then there was chaos. 

Iruka felt a strong hand grip his shoulder, wrenching him up and away from the table. He staggered as he was thrown back. 

" _Guards_ ," the King yelled and Iruka's head spun. Seconds later, the guards had him by the arms, restraining him though Iruka wasn't fighting them. 

The King was yelling at Iruka and the guards, Naruto was yelling at the King, and the guards were looking around in confusion, just as lost as Iruka. 

" _QUIET_ ," the King yelled, though he was the loudest person in the room by far.

He took a breath and turned toward Naruto. "Why were you in my rooms?"

Naruto looked away, crossing his arms over his chest and muttering something about bad tutors and boring lessons.

"Why did you let the criminal in my room when Naruto was in here?" the King asked the guards.

The orally fixated guard opened his mouth to answer, but Iruka doubted he'd even realized Naruto was in the rooms. He was interrupted when Naruto drew back his leg and kicked the King with all his eight-year-old might.

" _Don't_ call him a _criminal_."

All the adults in the room looked at Naruto in shock. 

The King turned slowly towards Iruka, deadly grace apparent in the movement. His voice was a low, threatening growl. "What have you been telling him?"

"How to solve math problems," Iruka said, meeting the King's glare with one of his own. He would have gestured towards the table but his arms were firmly behind his back, so instead he pointed his chin in its direction. 

The King held Iruka's gaze for a moment longer then turned towards the table. He picked up the sheets, studying them. 

"You were alone in the room with him for over an hour and you did math the whole time?"

"Yes," Naruto said, before Iruka could say anything. "And he is way better at math than my stupid tutor."

Iruka doubted that. The King had access to the best tutors in the land.

"Take Naruto back to his rooms," the King commanded one of his guards.

Iruka winced. That wasn't going to go over well.

As if on cue, Naruto threw himself into a sitting position by the table, glaring up at the King. "No. Iruka-sensei was going to teach me how to do this problem. _You_ can go to my rooms."

Iruka nearly laughed at the ridiculousness of that statement, one of the King's guards actually did, though he tried to cover it with a cough. 

The King looked momentarily very overwhelmed, and for the first time, he seemed _human_ to Iruka. Human, and at a complete loss for how to deal with the child in front of him. 

"Naruto," Iruka said gently, "the King and I need to discuss some things. Maybe I can help you with your math later?"

Naruto looked disgruntled. "Why can't I be here while you talk?"

"You can stay, but it's going to be a very boring talk about adult things." 

Naruto wrinkled his nose at the idea of adult things. 

Iruka could feel the King's eye on him, but he didn't look away from Naruto. "It's pretty important. You'd be helping us out a lot if you let us talk by ourselves for a little while."

Naruto considered this for a minute then glared up at the King again. "Can he be my tutor?"

" _No_ ," the King said, and Iruka winced again, knowing what kind of reaction that tone would get.

"Why not? Because you're too busy playing with him?"

This time both guards made quiet choking sounds.

The King's eye widened. He looked around the room desperately, clearly trying to figure out how to answer that. 

"Fine," Naruto said after a moment, taking matters into his own hands. "If he can't be my actual tutor, he can be my assignment tutor and help me with all the stupid things my actual tutor makes me do."

It was quite the little royal proclamation. With that firmly settled, at least in Naruto's mind, he stood up and took off towards his rooms, leaving the four adults staring after him. 

After a beat, the creepy-eyed guard said, "I should probably..." He left before the King could answer.

The King brought a hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose. 

The orally fixated guard snorted. "Well, I guess you won't be killing this one tonight either."

The King lowered his hand to glare at the guard.

"Anyway..." the guard said, "we'll be outside if you need us." 

He didn't _flee_ exactly, but it was close.

And with that, Iruka was left alone with the King once again.

~*~*~

"Tell me what just happened," Kakashi demanded.

"I'm... not entirely sure," Iruka said, and Kakashi gave him a look.

"Before I came in."

"Oh, well, when I was brought to your rooms, Naruto was already inside. The guard didn't know. He'd snuck in to hide from his tutor. We did math together for the better part of an hour. He's actually not bad," Iruka said, gesturing towards the table. "Once he catches on."

Kakashi didn't know what to think, but Iruka didn't seem to be lying.

"Do you know who he is?"

"I can guess," Iruka said.

"Do you know why he is here?"

"That, I can't even begin to guess."

Kakashi scrubbed at his face over the material of his mask. He could try to cover this up, but Iruka already knew who Naruto was, so he couldn't see the point in lying. He flopped down onto his chair. If he'd learned anything about Iruka in the last few weeks, it was that he didn't hide his reactions well, so Kakashi watched him carefully as he started to speak.

"He didn't die during the Invasion. Obviously. But he was just a few hours old, far too vulnerable. So the council had an idea. We'd say he died and hide him in the palace until he's older, until it's safer. I was always his official protector and the student of the former king. I already had... a certain reputation. So I'd become king in name only, regent in reality."

Iruka stared at him. There was shock written on his face, but also compassion. Telling him probably wasn't a good idea. He was still a criminal, he still couldn't be trusted. But it felt freeing to tell it all to someone who hadn't been there.

"There are only about a dozen people that ever come into this wing of the palace. Almost all of them worked closely with King Minato before he died. But Naruto is always making trouble, always running away."

Iruka was watching him closely, like he was trying to decide if he should say something. It was an odd look on him. Kakashi barely knew him and yet he knew Iruka was the type who said exactly what was on his mind. 

"Your Highness," Iruka started.

Kakashi almost laughed, realizing it was the first time Iruka had addressed him with any level of respect since the first sentence he'd said to Kakashi, like Kakashi had lost the right to be shown deference after he'd suggested Iruka suck him off.

"Kakashi," he said.

Iruka blinked at him. "What?"

"If you're going to call anyone _Your Highness_ , it should be Naruto, not me. Kakashi is fine."

Iruka hesitated for a moment, like he was considering it. He nodded, though he didn't say Kakashi's name when he spoke again. 

"He's lonely," he said. "He wants attention. It's not normal for kids to grow up in isolation."

Kakashi grimaced. He'd been assigned to protect Naruto even before his birth, but he'd never known how to deal with him. Kakashi had never truly been a child himself; he'd grown up too fast. He was probably the least equipped person in the kingdom to take care of one. Everything he did or said was always wrong. 

Iruka had been the first person he'd seen Naruto respond to in ages. He would have been happy about it, if it'd just been someone who wasn't in Iruka's situation.

"You have experience teaching?"

"Yes, I do."

"I want to make one thing clear. You will _never_ be allowed alone in a room with him again."

Iruka nodded. "Given what you think about me, I understand your concern."

"But if you are willing to help him, I'm willing to allow it until your sentence is carried out. As long as I'm there."

Iruka considered for a moment then nodded again. "I can agree to that."

"And you cannot tell your friends."

"They wouldn't do anything to harm him. You can trust them."

Kakashi leveled a look at him. A criminal telling him that he could trust someone. Sure. He'd get right on that.

Iruka seemed to realize what Kakashi was thinking. "I won't tell them," he said. "I know it means nothing to you, but I give you my word on that."

Kakashi resisted breathing out a sigh of relief. "Guards," he called again. 

Iruka looked at him sharply.

Genma slid the doors open and carefully poked his head in.

"Take him back to the cells, we're done for the night. Bring him an hour earlier tomorrow."

Genma exchanged looks with Tenzo but said nothing. Iruka didn't protest either, just followed them out, shooting one last glance at Kakashi before he left. 

After they were gone, Kakashi slumped back into his chair. What had he just gotten himself into? Or, more accurately, what had Naruto just gotten him into?

~*~*~


	3. Chapter 3

There was something about teaching that soothed Iruka. Sure, students could be pains in the ass. They were often hyperactive, stress-inducing bundles. But no matter what else was going on around him, teaching made him feel like he was in his element, like there was something in the world he could fix. It was how he'd survived the aftermath of the Invasion. He'd found people that needed him and taught them what little he could, learning from them along the way. It'd kept him sane even when everything else was chaos. 

Over the years, he'd spent an increasing amount of time acting as a tutor for all the kids that managed to find their way to him. Often they had large gaps in knowledge from dropping out of school after their parents had died or they'd ended up on the streets. 

Considering that, he shouldn't have been surprised at how easy it was to fall into this new routine, how _normal_ it felt. He had to constantly remind himself that it wasn't normal, that he didn't belong there, that his friends' lives were still in danger. But it didn't feel that way when he was teaching.

Iruka would go to the King's rooms, _Kakashi's_ rooms, earlier than before and spend a few hours helping Naruto with his studies. Afterwards, he and Kakashi would go through an abbreviated version of their previous routine. Dinner would be brought in by someone else, but Iruka still set it out. They'd go to the baths then return, with Iruka continuing to tell one of his stories until midnight when he'd be brought back to his cell. The reduced time meant each story lasted longer, letting him better plot what came next

Kakashi watched Iruka as he helped Naruto, his gaze still suspicious, but he didn't interfere. Teaching while someone monitored him had been strange to get used to, even if Kakashi was just sitting across the room, reading his book most of the time.

For all the fact that Naruto would be king one day, he was not entirely different from the other kids Iruka had worked with. He saw a lot of himself in Naruto. Loud and wanting attention, acting out because he felt no one cared what he said or did. 

Naruto still caused trouble, but he was willing to settle down and listen as long as Iruka was willing to listen to him in return. And listen Iruka did. He was treated to tale after tale of Naruto's adventures and claims of how he'd be the best king ever, way better than _certain kings_ , and everyone would know his name and respect him. It was impossible not to become ridiculously fond of him in a very short period of time.

[ ](https://i-like-to-look-at-your-back.tumblr.com/post/618391413781069824/kakairu)

If Naruto were to be believed, he'd mastered half a dozen martial arts already and was well on his way to mastering a dozen more. Kakashi never said anything to contradict him, but once or twice Iruka caught him hiding what might have been a smile behind his book when Naruto was telling a particularly wild story about his impressive mastery of so many techniques. It was hard to reconcile the image rumors painted of him with his clear exasperated affection for his young charge. 

But even after Naruto left for the night, Kakashi's presence felt less intense, less threatening now that Iruka had seen beneath a few of the masks he presented to the world. More than once Iruka thought he saw Kakashi watching him with something like consideration in his eye. It wasn't much, but it gave Iruka the briefest stirrings of hope that maybe, just maybe, Kakashi might be starting to see him as more than just a criminal.

~*~*~

"I can't believe I have to go away for a whole _week_ to train with Ero-sennin," Naruto wailed as he slumped onto the table in front of him. "That's like, _forever_."

"It really is," Iruka said, deadpan. "You'll be so _old_ when you get back."

Across the room, Kakashi was fully hiding behind his book, something Iruka was fairly sure meant he was trying not to show his amusement.

"Right? I'll be nearly as old as that pervert over there," Naruto said, gesturing to Kakashi.

Kakashi lowered his book enough to give Naruto an unimpressed look.

"But think about how strong you'll be after that much training. You might be able to master another dozen martial arts."

" _Two dozen_ ," Naruto said. 

"Definitely," Iruka said. "I probably won't even recognize you anymore, you'll be so strong."

Pacified, Naruto finally settled into his work. 

Iruka was still surprised Kakashi was letting Naruto leave the palace, even if it was just for a few days. Whoever this Ero-sennin was, he had to be someone Kakashi trusted more than anyone else in the world.

It wasn't that Iruka was happy to see Naruto go, but it might give him a chance to talk to Kakashi, to finally try to plant a seed in his mind, something that would convince him to let Kotetsu and Izumo go, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity.

~*~*~

Kakashi still didn't understand why every single one of his advisers had been so insistent on the idea of Jiraiya taking Naruto outside of the palace for a week. They'd said Naruto needed to see the real world, but Kakashi thought he was still too young. In the end, it didn't matter how much he protested, he'd been thoroughly overruled by the council and the trip had been planned.

He might not be happy about it, but if there was one silver lining to the whole thing, it meant Iruka would have more time to tell his stories again.

Shortly before Naruto had left, Iruka had finished up a story about bounty-hunting criminal zombies and started a new one. The next story was about two boys from rival clans who grew up in a time of nonstop war and killing, yet still became friends and slowly were working their way to becoming more than that. There had been something about the characters that had tickled at the back of Kakashi's mind. Their archetypes were familiar, though it had taken him some thought to place them.

Which was why the first evening Naruto was away, Kakashi was lounging on some cushions, half-heartedly perusing a copy of _The Curse of Hatred_ , waiting for Iruka to arrive.

When Iruka was brought at his normal pre-Naruto time, he took one look at the book and snorted, then set about arranging Kakashi's dinner on the low table. Kakashi raised an eyebrow at him. He was starting to like the complete disregard Iruka had for his position of authority more than he really should, but that didn't mean he had to show it.

"Is there a problem?" Kakashi asked, tone more than a little threatening.

Iruka ignored any hint of danger, continuing his work. "Maybe I'm just surprised you read things other than smut."

But after a moment, he stopped what he was doing, like he couldn't contain himself anymore. He made a flailing gesture at the book in Kakashi's hand. "Uchiha Madara? Really? Otsutsuki Indra's philosophies are bad enough on their own, but Madara's expounding upon them is completely indefensible." His voice was annoyed, his body rigid with irritation.

"Madara is considered by many to be one of the greatest philosophers in our history. What's wrong with his teachings?"

Iruka huffed, muttering to himself as he flung the rest of the dishes on the table. "What's wrong with his teachings, he says. What's wrong? _Greatest philosopher of our time_. Ugh."

When he was finished, he crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Kakashi. "What's wrong with his teachings?" Iruka asked, volume rising with the color in his cheeks. "First of all, the whole concept of _Embracing the Curse of Hatred_."

And then he was off on one of the most spectacular rants Kakashi had ever been privileged to witness. 

Kakashi watched in fascination as Iruka tore through all of Madara's philosophies one after another. He let him go for a while, keeping his face neutral as he walked over to the table and began eating. Iruka seemed in no danger of stopping any time soon, still Kakashi couldn't help but needle him.

"-which makes his idea of fully breaking from any form of attachment truly meaningless."

Kakashi jumped in before Iruka could get going again. "Breaking from attachment allows for clarity of mind and the ability to implement the necessary devices of change."

"It does _no such thing_ ," Iruka argued back, red with anger. "It's just some contrived excuse to rationalize Madara's 'the end justifies the means' bullshit. The only thing he was ever concerned with was manipulating others in order to achieve his own goals and satisfy himself."

"His goal was world peace," Kakashi said flatly, like he couldn't care less about this debate Iruka was trying to have.

" _World peace_ ," Iruka scoffed. "From someone who was widely known for his love of fighting above all else, who had no qualms with playing dirty, who belittled anyone weaker than himself? World peace is _not_ mercilessly subjugating everyone to your will."

"When humanity and the world as a whole are incapable of changing their own corrupt ways, sometimes drastic steps are necessary for the good of the masses."

"If someone only values power, they do _not_ care about the masses."

They continued on for far longer than Kakashi would have guessed. Through a polemic against Madara's dislike for wasting power and time on what he considered unworthy causes and people to a dissection of how dying for a cause was fine by Iruka, but dying for revenge absolutely was not. One was an act of love, the other an act of hatred, and Iruka did not mince his words regarding his feelings towards people who were willing to do the latter.

Some of the dishes grew cold before Kakashi could finish them, but he didn't mind. It was far more entertaining to see how worked up he could get Iruka. Kakashi couldn't help but push him a little more each time just to see how he'd react, liking his take on different points more than he was willing to let on. Iruka was intelligent and clearly well read, his arguments were sound and logical, not what Kakashi would have expected from a thief. And he had to admit Iruka was enjoyable to watch like this, his cheeks flushed, eyes bright and passionate.

Finally Iruka seemed to run out of steam, settling on glaring at Kakashi when words failed him. 

Kakashi stood and stretched. "I never said I agree with him. It's just important to know how your enemies think."

He was rewarded by the moment of utter shock on Iruka's face as it hit him that Kakashi had only been playing devil's advocate the whole time. Kakashi turned and walked towards the door, leaving Iruka gaping behind him. 

It was far later than they'd ever headed to the baths, which meant there would be significantly less story time than usual, but Kakashi found he didn't mind. Sure, he wanted more of Iruka's stories, but this had been good too. Iruka's face at the end had been very satisfying.

After a moment, Kakashi heard Iruka hurrying after him and he had to resist the urge to grin as he wondered what else he could get the other man to debate him on. Naruto had demanded a promise that Iruka would still be there when he got back from his training, but that didn't mean Kakashi couldn't have fun with Iruka while he was away.

As Iruka undressed Kakashi, he was clearly warring with himself, like he wanted to say more. Emotions played on his face. He was so open, so unlike anything Kakashi was used to. Being around someone new who didn't have layer after layer of hidden agendas was refreshing. Iruka wanted to stay alive, he wanted his friends to stay alive, and that was it. He didn't hide that and he didn't lie to try to achieve it, even when it meant saying something that might piss off the person who would decide his fate.

Once he started washing Kakashi, he became more subdued again. His flush of outrage from before had faded and was now replaced by the blush he always had when he was doing this. Like always, he stopped well away from any of the more intimate areas, leaving them for Kakashi to wash himself. And like always, Kakashi didn't push him, just quickly washed himself while Iruka looked away. 

He let Iruka rinse him, then moved to the bath, sinking into the basin. 

"Continue your story please," Kakashi said, not even noticing the lack of sarcasm on the final word.

Iruka did, and the two boys in his story inched closer to whatever undoubtedly spectacular release he had planned for them.

~*~*~

Iruka wasn't sure what he'd find when he returned to Kakashi's rooms the next day, but it definitely wasn't Kakashi reading another philosophy book, this one far different from the last.

 _The Will of Fire_ by Senju Hashirama was a book Iruka could get behind. He'd read Hashirama's expansion of the teachings of Otsutsuki Asura when he was young and still tried to uphold the philosophies it taught in his daily life.

"Naive, wasn't he?" Kakashi asked as soon as Iruka started to set out dishes. Iruka looked up and Kakashi wiggled the book at him. "Hard to believe anyone could be this foolishly optimistic."

Iruka twitched and placed another dish on the table. He knew what Kakashi was doing. After yesterday's debate, there was no doubt in his mind. So instead of taking the bait, he continued to work.

"To think anyone would so willingly give their own life for a hopeless cause."

Iruka twitched again. Kakashi was baiting him. Iruka had pushed things too far yesterday and he didn't want to risk it again. All his lessons with Naruto had made him forget the situation he was in. He had to remember who Kakashi was. Yelling at him for being an idiot wouldn't engender any goodwill towards Iruka or his friends.

"A head of state should not lower their head so easily, nor should they place the welfare of all others above their own."

Iruka's resolve shattered into a thousand little pieces. "Of course they should. Any good leader should protect all those who follow them." He couldn't help but glare at Kakashi as he said it. 

If he wasn't mistaken, there was a glint in Kakashi's eye that looked almost gleeful. Iruka wondered if he should be worried, but he wasn't going to back down. Not on something this important to him.

Things got increasingly more heated from there. Kakashi had a way of pushing at his beliefs, making Iruka defend himself on points he'd never had to before. Iruka hadn't had someone to debate with like this for a while. It made him think, kept him on his toes. But the strangest thing was, the longer they debated, the more he became certain that they were on the same side far more than Kakashi was letting on. Like he was poking at Iruka, testing him, seeing what he would do when challenged. He had a way of twisting arguments and coming at points from entirely new angles that left Iruka struggling to keep up but enjoying it all the same. Kakashi wasn't willing to let him off easy and that just made Iruka dig in his heels, surprised to feel almost as gleeful as Kakashi seemed to be about provoking him. 

The debate wound down when it became clear that neither of them had much more to say, and Iruka trailed after Kakashi on the way to the baths, mind still turning over some of the finer points Kakashi had made. 

He felt like he'd gotten used to undressing Kakashi, at least until he got to the fundoshi. Washing him was still another thing altogether. No matter how he looked at it, it just felt too intimate. 

To distract himself, he focused on one of Kakashi's arguments during their debate, a rather heated part about what was worth sacrificing oneself for. Kakashi had claimed nothing was, but as Iruka washed his back, seeing all the scars that marked his skin, he couldn't bring himself to think Kakashi believed that. Some of the scars were deep, a few had to have been life threatening. A person didn't receive scars like that for nothing. 

[ ](https://i-like-to-look-at-your-back.tumblr.com/post/618391413781069824/kakairu)

Mind stuck on how Kakashi had insisted even friends weren't important enough to die for, Iruka ran his thumb along one of the deeper scars. Kakashi shivered almost imperceptibly under the touch and Iruka's mind jerked back to the reality of the situation. He muttered an apology and Kakashi made a noncommittal noise in return. 

They continued as if nothing had happened, though Iruka was more careful with his hands. Even then, he couldn't help but notice the subtle shifts of Kakashi's muscles under his fingers, the momentary tension and held breath when Iruka reached parts that were likely more sensitive than others. The tells seemed automatic and Kakashi caught himself, not giving too much away, but they were still there. 

The mischievous part of Iruka wanted to trail his hands along Kakashi's skin a little slower, a little softer, just to see how it'd make him react, but he didn't let that part of himself take over. Something like that could definitely get himself and his friends killed.

But if his fingers did slide a little further up Kakashi's thighs than usual just to see the way it made his breath hitch the slightest bit, Iruka didn't think anyone could blame him. It was always hard to remember where exactly he should stop.

~*~*~

The debates continued the entire week Naruto was gone. Every night Kakashi had some new philosophy book he managed to get Iruka worked up over. He seemed to like it, seemed to enjoy provoking him.

Some nights Iruka managed to contain himself for longer than others. He'd made it a full ten minutes before Nagato's corrupted ideals had forced him to argue against _The Dawn of Peace_ and he'd never had particularly strong feelings about _The Outer Path_ until Kakashi had insisted on it being the only way to true power and enlightenment. But when Kakashi had held up _The Way of the Leaf_ and called it trite, no power on earth, not even the hint of wicked glee in Kakashi's expression, would have been able to stop Iruka from telling him exactly what he thought of that.

If Kakashi seemed to like finding ways to get under Iruka's skin, Iruka was finding he enjoyed letting him. No matter how often Iruka reminded himself that he needed to keep his temper in check, that he had to remember who Kakashi was and the control he had over Iruka's future, and more importantly, the future of his friends, Kakashi always found the right buttons to push to make Iruka forget that.

It never hit him until after the fact, when he had a few moments to cool down before the balmy air of the baths heated him up again in an entirely different way. But Kakashi never called him on it. Iruka wondered if it was simply because Kakashi liked the novelty of it, if he was indulging Iruka for the fun of toying with him. He doubted Kakashi had many people that challenged him or didn't care who he was. Iruka was more than willing to do both, especially if it made him interesting enough to keep around.

~*~*~

Kakashi wasn't sure which one he looked forward to more, getting Iruka worked up while they were debating or Iruka working him up with his stories.

On one hand, Kakashi liked provoking the debates and he also found he liked Iruka's thoughts on things. There were moments when Kakashi was sure Iruka had forgotten where he was and who he was debating. The way he lit up every time he got Kakashi to concede a point made Kakashi feel pleasantly warm, to the point where he found he didn't entirely mind admitting he was wrong from time to time. 

But on the other hand, Iruka was still telling him one explicit story after another, still ending at a place that left Kakashi wanting to hear more. Once again, he wondered how long Iruka would be able to keep it up, if he'd ever run out or if he could continue forever. He didn't let himself think about which he'd prefer.

With Naruto gone, Kakashi had thought he'd get extra story time. But the addition of their debates meant Iruka's latest story had been taking even longer to tell, spreading out over the week as the boys from rival clans grew up, loved hard and fought harder, with some of their battles leaving scars on the earth itself. 

And each night, the kitchen still sent two sets of dishes, even though Kakashi had told them not to multiple times and they had to have noticed that one was never used. Given the way his advisers and commanders had been acting, maybe he shouldn't have been surprised with how on board the kitchen staff continued to be with the idea of whatever relationship they thought Kakashi and Iruka were having.

The foods that they sent had shifted as well. There were more finger foods since Naruto had left, things one might feed to a lover, and always at least one dish that was supposed to have aphrodisiac properties. If Iruka noticed, he didn't say anything.

But the kitchen always sending up food for two seemed like a waste, and there was no reason why Iruka couldn't eat during their debates. Kakashi doubted he'd let food slow him down when he had a point to make, plus there'd still be plenty of time for his stories afterwards.

"You can eat as well," Kakashi offered on the fifth night Naruto was gone, but Iruka shook his head.

"I eat what my friends eat."

Kakashi gazed at him for a few long seconds before nodding and continuing to eat. He made sure the prisoners were well fed, even the worst of them still deserved food, though they never got anything close to what he ate. Most people would jump at the chance for a better meal. But he couldn't say he was surprised Iruka hadn't. He had to respect the dedication Iruka showed towards his friends.

Five weeks ago, Iruka had been nothing but a criminal to him. Now, Kakashi wasn't sure it was quite that simple.

~*~*~

For the second night in a row, Kakashi offered Iruka food, and Iruka found himself annoyed at the hint of amusement in his eye. He wondered if this was how it would go from now on, if Kakashi would continue offering him something he knew Iruka wouldn't take. He'd thought there had been a brief moment of respect in Kakashi's gaze the night before, but he must have been mistaken.

It wasn't until Iruka returned to his cell that he understood the amusement. 

His friends had been given the same meal as Kakashi. A low table had even been brought into the cell for the occasion, and it was covered with the myriad of dishes that were given to the King nightly.

"That _asshole_ ," Iruka cursed after the door had been locked behind him. He hadn't meant for the guards to overhear, but from the way the orally fixated guard was chuckling as he walked away, Iruka had been a little too loud.

"Hey," Izumo said, raising a glass of what suspiciously looked like wine to greet Iruka, clearly in a twisted sort of drunken cheer. "I think we're having our last meal. We saved you some."

"It isn't your last meal," Iruka grumbled, dropping down by the table and pulling a few dishes closer. "The King is just a total asshole."

Kotetsu snorted, also more than a little on the tipsy side. "We already knew that."

"But hey," Izumo said, "at least he treats his prisoners well. When he isn't, you know, killing them for minor crimes."

"Or imprisoning them for a month for standing around near his palace," Kotetsu added.

Iruka had to admit all that was true. Still, it pissed him off. Kakashi could have said he'd had food brought down to Iruka's friends, he didn't have to sit there looking all smug and amused as he ate and not telling Iruka why. 

"He's so _frustrating_ ," Iruka said. "He enjoys being a pain in the ass. He'll argue horrible points he doesn't even agree with just to prove he can. Who does that? And he quotes Madara by heart, but he _claims_ he doesn't like him. Then why even bother learning the damn quotes? And don't even get me started on-"

His friends blinked at him for a moment then glanced at each other and nodded in silent agreement.

"What?" Iruka asked.

"I don't know if I should say this," Izumo started, "but..."

"You sound like you have a crush," Kotetsu finished.

" _I do not_ ," Iruka hissed, looking back towards the cell door like a guard might be standing there, listening in.

"Yeah, you totally do," Kotetsu said while Izumo nodded his agreement. "It's exactly like that time you had a crush on Hayase and everything he did irritated you until you two finally hooked up." 

" _God, he's so annoying. Did you see the way he was wearing his hanten the other day? With it tied shut in front? Who even does that?_ " Izumo said in a mocking tone.

"I did _not_ sound like that! Or have a crush on him! And Hayase was totally irritating, but Kakashi is ten times more so."

They both blinked at him again.

"...Kakashi?" Izumo asked.

"It's... I... It's not..." Iruka sputtered. He hadn't called the King by his name in front of his friends before this, mostly because he knew they'd have _questions_. "He said I should..." And damn it, he was blushing now, that wasn't helping his case. 

From the looks they were giving him, they had a lot more than questions.

"IT'S NOT LIKE THAT."

They both shrugged, clearly not believing him and too drunk to really care. Izumo pushed a dish towards Iruka. "Whatever you say. But more importantly, you have to try this saury."

Iruka did. He tried everything on the table and had to grudgingly admit it was all delicious. And only partially because he was glad for the change in topic. 

But as he lay on his cot that night, staring at the ceiling, the thought ate at him. Maybe he found Kakashi interesting and intelligent. And Iruka might be a little curious about him because he wasn't what he'd expected. And okay, he did have a pretty decent body, that was impossible to miss when he was washing it every night. And his dick was... It was just a dick, Iruka told himself firmly, stopping the thought from going anywhere interesting. He didn't need to assign adjectives to it. 

But all that didn't mean he had a _crush_ on the guy. He wasn't a teenager anymore. Kakashi was the acting king and Iruka was still his prisoner. And even if sometimes it didn't feel like it, he was still telling smutty stories every night to make sure he and his friends were safe. It'd be stupid for him to have a crush in a situation like that, more foolish than the bet that had landed him here in the first place.

 _Impressive_ , a corner of his mind supplied. _Tempting. Enticing._

Iruka held back a groan and tried very hard to shut his brain off before it could come up with any more helpful adjectives.

~*~*~

If Kakashi didn't kill his friends, Iruka was seriously considering doing it himself. He'd been perfectly fine before, but now all he could think about was his definitely-not-a-crush.

Sure, he'd always had a thing for guys who could challenge him mentally, and Kakashi was more than capable on that front. But that meant absolutely nothing.

Kakashi had offered him food again the next night, the last before Naruto came back, and this time Iruka accepted.

Still kneeling next to the table, he reached for one of the dishes.

"What are you doing?" Kakashi asked.

Iruka froze. "You said I could eat."

"Not that. _That_ ," Kakashi said, gesturing to where Iruka was kneeling on the bare floor. "Sit on one of the cushions."

Iruka frowned. Even when he worked with Naruto, he avoided the cushions, like he had since the first night. "My friends don't have cushions to sit on."

Kakashi blinked once slowly, then turned back to his food.

Iruka wouldn't fall for this again. "Am I going to go back to my cell and find it's been redecorated?"

"I thought you might ask something like that," Kakashi said with the ghost of amusement in his voice.

"Is that a yes?"

"What do you think?" Kakashi shrugged and continued eating.

Iruka sat on one of the cushions.

Between bites, they continued their debates. Iruka could recognize that Kakashi was playing with him. Learning exactly what worked him up the most, getting him to the point where he could barely control himself, then giving him time to cool down before doing it again. There were sexual implications to that, but Iruka refused to think about them. 

He'd known for a while that banter felt like flirting to him. But if banter was flirting, debating Kakashi was better than foreplay. And it did nothing to help with his non-crush. 

Through it all, Kakashi watched Iruka intently, studying him, more than once making Iruka want to squirm under the scrutiny. There wasn't judgment in his gaze, just enjoyment at the way he was able to get under Iruka’s skin, to open him up, to see how he’d react when pushed. It left Iruka’s body buzzing from the novelty of being the focus of such close regard. 

But if Kakashi liked to push him over dinner, Iruka was starting to be the guilty party once they moved to the baths.

Iruka didn't know if Kakashi was becoming more responsive to his touch, or if he'd just started noticing more over the last few days, but ever since that second night they'd debated, Iruka couldn't ignore his reactions. 

He didn't know what Kakashi was reacting to. If it was whatever training he had, if it was not wanting people close to him, if he wasn't touched often, or if he was simply enjoying it. With his face always covered and his reactions controlled, he didn't give much away. But still, they were there. Slight and subtle, quickly repressed, but undeniable in their existence. Minute shifts of muscle, hints of tension, irregularities in his breathing. They were all Iruka could focus on, though he knew they led down a dangerous path. 

Dangerous, but with a tempting fall.

That night in the baths, he let his hands trail a little slower over Kakashi's soapy skin, kept his touch a little lighter, liking the almost imperceptible shivers it caused. He brushed a thumb along the lines of Kakashi's abs as he washed his chest, casual enough that it might have been an accident. He slid his hands a little further up Kakashi's thighs. All the tiny reactions urged him on. 

It seemed only fair. If Kakashi was going to tease him during their debates, Iruka should get to tease him in return, whether while washing him or while telling his stories. 

And if he did make his story a little more explicit, a little filthier, focused it more on the sex, Kakashi didn't seem to mind. He tilted his head back and closed his eyes, hands safely out of the water while his cock grew hard but went untouched beneath. From time to time he'd open his eye and look at Iruka, watching him with a half-hooded gaze. The intensity of his stare made Iruka want to shift where he was standing. It forced him to focus carefully on his words so as to not stumble over them. It made him wonder what Kakashi was thinking. 

But Kakashi just watched him for a few moments and then closed his eye again. He never did more than that, never said anything. 

Iruka couldn't help but wonder what he'd do if Kakashi suggested the same thing he had on the first night. _What else would you be willing to do?_

Iruka was finding that he'd be willing to do a lot more than he'd ever thought possible, but not if it were in exchange for his and his friends' freedom. He didn't want to sell himself like that, but he did still _want_. And with Kakashi's slick skin under his hands, it was hard to remember why pushing things further was a bad idea.

~*~*~

Naruto's first night back was nothing like any other night Iruka had experienced at the palace. For one thing, Iruka wasn't the one doing the bulk of the storytelling. Naruto had tales of his own to share.

He had saved the world five times over in the last week. He'd helped every old lady in the kingdom cross a street, rescued dozens, if not hundreds, of cats from trees, and saved an indeterminate number of small children from burning buildings. Apparently outside of Konoha, the country was nothing but busy streets and burning buildings. Iruka had never known. And trees, he shouldn't forget the trees. Trees just filled to the brim with cats.

Naruto didn't get much studying done and stayed long past the time he normally left for the night. Long enough that Kakashi called for dinner and the kitchen sent up three sets of dishes. 

" _Awesome_ , I get to eat with Iruka-sensei!" Naruto said, but he didn't manage to eat much, too busy telling his adventures to get food in his mouth, though he did try to do both at once.

Eating with Kakashi and Naruto was dangerous. It felt right in a way Iruka couldn't wrap his head around. Like they could have meals like this every night and he would never tire of it.

It was almost midnight by the time Naruto had run out of steam. He was swaying in his seat, eyes barely open, nearly falling asleep mid-sentence. But he didn't want to go to bed just yet. He had more to tell them.

"Another night," Iruka said gently. "You should go to sleep now."

"'Mnot tired," Naruto said, words jumbling together. 

"Of course you're not," Iruka said. "But after such an amazing journey, if you were just a little tired, it'd be understandable."

"Maybe just a little," Naruto admitted, then immediately perked up, a mischievous grin spreading on his face. "But only if you tuck me in."

Iruka opened his mouth and shut it again. He didn't know how to respond to that. He glanced over at Kakashi, who shrugged. 

"It's fine," he said, surprising Iruka.

The clock tower struck midnight as they made their way to Naruto's bedroom. 

Out of the corner of his eye, Iruka could see Kakashi looking at him. He ignored it. He might refuse to tell stories after midnight, but this was different. 

Iruka had tucked in some of the kids he'd cared for before, but it was odd doing it in Naruto's lavish bedroom, under Kakashi's watchful eye. Even odder when he realized Kakashi's gaze wasn't suspicious like he'd expected. There was something almost soft about him that had Iruka fascinated.

They left Naruto's rooms and Iruka looked at Kakashi, unsure of what to do. His time was up, but he also hadn't done any of his usual duties.

Kakashi shook his head at the unspoken question. "You can go back now," he said, his tone quiet. 

For the first night since he'd found Naruto in Kakashi's rooms, he hadn't told Kakashi part of a story. Iruka had never thought he'd miss it, but walking back to his cell, one guard flanking him, the night didn't feel quite complete without it. Maybe it wouldn't have been so bad to stay just a little bit longer, to tell just a little bit more of the story they were on. Not every night, just this once. It couldn't hurt.

It wasn't until he got back to his cell that he realized the fault in that line of thought. 

Izumo and Kotetsu were on their feet the moment the door opened. He was only fifteen minutes late, but that had been enough for worry to take over. 

"What happened?" Izumo asked. "Why are you late?"

Iruka opened his mouth then had to stop himself from answering. He couldn't tell them the truth but he also wouldn't lie to them.

"We thought he'd finally killed you," Kotetsu said. Given the King's reputation, of course they'd assumed the worst.

"No," Iruka said, shaking his head. "I just, I lost track of time."

They both frowned.

" _Iruka_ ," Izumo started, but Iruka cut him off.

"I'm _fine_. Nothing happened. He isn't going to kill me randomly."

"How can you know that?" Kotetsu asked.

Iruka looked around the cell, unsure how to explain himself. His eyes caught on the small table covered with the leftovers of a meal fit for a king, three cushions sitting around it. He hadn't even been surprised when he'd returned to the cell to find them there the day before. They were far from the nicest in the palace, but they were still there.

"He's not as cold-blooded as the rumors make him out to be," Iruka said with determination.

His friends still looked skeptical. 

Izumo sighed. "Just... don't lose track of time again, okay?"

Iruka nodded. He didn't want to fight with them over this. Once he convinced Kakashi to release them, they'd understand.

~*~*~

The debates didn't continue after Naruto returned; there wasn't time for them. They'd only done them for a week, but Iruka was surprised by how much he missed them. Instead, he helped Naruto with his studies, they ate dinner, Naruto grudgingly left when it was bedtime, and then the nights would end with Iruka bathing Kakashi and telling him stories, though that was by far the least amount of time.

The longer he worked with Naruto, the more the boy seemed to get frustrated with his official tutor and he had no issue holding back, in complaining to Iruka or to the tutor himself.

"So I told him," Naruto said proudly, "that Iruka-sensei is a _way_ better teacher than him and that _he_ should take lessons from you and learn how to teach."

Iruka bit back a groan and restrained himself from burying his face in his hands. "I appreciate the sentiment, Naruto, I really do. But don't you think you should show your tutor a little more respect?"

Naruto made a face. "But he's just so-"

"Naruto," Iruka said in warning.

"But he really does su-"

" _Naruto_ ," Iruka said again, cutting him off.

"Fine," Naruto grumbled. "I just really think you should be my tutor, not him." He shot Kakashi a look, which Kakashi ignored.

Iruka shook his head and pointed to the next passage in the book they were reading.

~*~*~

Afterwards, Iruka wondered if he should have made the connection earlier, but even when he was being honest, he didn't think he could have seen it coming. Izumo and Kotetsu might have though.

Just a day after Naruto was bragging about telling his tutor what a good teacher Iruka was, Iruka had a visitor to their cell. It wasn't a guard, Kakashi, one of his advisers, or even Naruto.

It was Mizuki, dressed in robes far nicer than anything he'd ever worn before.

Iruka stood quickly and walked to the cell door.

"Mizuki," Iruka said. "Why are you here? You weren't charged with something too, were you?"

Out of the corner of his eye, Iruka could see Izumo and Kotetsu exchanging looks. It was creepy how they did that, how they always seemed to know exactly what the other was thinking.

Mizuki's face was twisted in an unpleasant sneer. He looked around the cell with a pleased sort of disgust that Iruka had never seen him show. "So this is what you've come to? I'd heard rumors about some criminal selling his ass to the King to stay alive, I hadn't realized it was you."

Iruka didn't know what to say. He sputtered, feeling his cheeks burn. "I'm not... I don't... You know I wouldn't do something like that."

Mizuki scoffed. "Wouldn't you?"

Iruka blushed harder and didn't know what to say. Was that what he was doing? He'd tried to convince himself it wasn't. He was just telling stories, if those stories happened to get the King off, that didn't count. And even if he had thought about doing more, he'd never _acted_ on it.

The sound of a door opening far down the hallway echoed in the corridor. Mizuki twitched. He looked around quickly, then turned back to Iruka, eyes narrowing and sneer returning. 

"I just wanted to see how far your pretentious little ass had fallen. He really should have killed you right away, but I can understand the temptation to fuck you a few times before doing so. It might actually be better this way," Mizuki said with a twisted smirk. "Might help you learn your place. I bet he fucks you until you scream for mercy. Do you like it? Does he make you beg?"

Iruka had no answer for that. He felt the blood drain out of his face as cold horror twisted in his stomach. 

Mizuki cast another quick glance down the hallway, before focusing on Iruka again. "You know, if I had realized you were still alive, I would have asked if he was willing to loan you out for a night or two. So I could make sure you were getting _exactly_ what you deserve. I'd shove my cock so hard and far into your ass, you'd gag on it. You wouldn't be able to walk for days after I was done with you, and you'd still beg me for more."

Iruka's stomach lurched. Kotetsu and Izumo came up behind him, glaring at Mizuki, showing they had Iruka's back, but he was too horrified to find his voice.

"But in the end, it won't matter how many times you bend over for him. Someone like that will get sick of even your pretty ass eventually, and then he'll kill you." Mizuki's grin was vicious and self-satisfied. Then without looking back, he left as quickly as he'd come. 

Iruka felt numb. That hadn't been the Mizuki he'd known, the Mizuki he'd grown up with. 

"Man," Kotetsu said, breaking the silence Mizuki's retreating footsteps had left behind him. "I fucking _hate_ that guy."

Izumo nodded. "What the hell is he even doing here?"

"Nothing good, obviously. That asshole has never done a good thing in his whole damn life," Kotetsu said.

Iruka turned to stare at them, still numb from shock. "Don't say things like that."

They both gave him incredulous looks. 

"Iruka, really? He just threatened to rape you," Kotetsu said.

" _Repeatedly_ ," Izumo added. "You saw his face, he wants you dead."

"Something has to be wrong, something must have happened to him," Iruka said, trying to make sense of it in his own mind. "He was never like that before."

"I know you can't see faults in people you think of as friends, but use your brain. You're too smart to be this naive," Izumo said.

"What's that's supposed to mean?" Iruka asked, mind spinning.

" _He_ is the reason we're here," Kotetsu spat out.

"But-" Iruka started to protest, then he thought it through. Mizuki was the one who'd suggested stealing something from the palace grounds and he hadn't been there when they were caught. It'd only been the four of them that had known what Iruka was planning to do, and _someone_ had tipped off the guards. Mizuki had to have turned them in.

Another thought hit Iruka. Mizuki was Naruto's tutor. 

Naruto never said his name, only called him impolite things, but it had to be him. Iruka and his friends were caught breaking into the palace, and now Mizuki worked there and was trusted enough to walk around on his own. Informing on someone about to break into the palace would be a pretty good way to earn trust. 

Still.

"It does seem suspicious, but… I can't imagine Mizuki would do that to us."

Kotetsu snorted. "Like that time he stole some of your father's kunai and sold them to pay off money he owed."

"He just-" Iruka started to say, but Izumo cut him off.

"Or the time he broke your kotatsu and didn't apologize or replace it?"

Iruka opened his mouth to protest again, but Kotetsu rode over him.

"Or when he _accidentally_ spilled water on all of your favorite books."

"Or when he stole from the fruit vendor and let you take the blame."

"Or tried to sneak rotten meat into your food to give you food poisoning."

"Or slept with Kokage right after you told us you had a thing for him."

Iruka could only stare at them in horror.

"I don't know why," Izumo said almost gently, "but he's always seemed to have it out for you."

Kotetsu nodded in agreement. "Ever since we were kids, he has always tried to find ways to undermine you."

"I... I thought we were all friends," Iruka said, unsure what else to say.

They both shook their heads. 

"We were only _friends_ with that asshole because it made you happy," Kotetsu said.

Iruka felt like shit.

Izumo clapped him on the shoulder. "But for the record, the fact that you only see the good in people is why you're such a good person."

Kotestu nodded in agreement.

"Still," Izumo said after a moment. "Why is he here?"

Iruka was afraid he might have an idea.

~*~*~


	4. Chapter 4

Over the top of his book, Kakashi watched Iruka set out their dinner. Even though it was growing dark, Naruto wasn't in the room yet, likely held back by his tutor for misbehaving yet again. Kakashi was sure he'd arrive any minute though; he tried to get there as soon as possible now. Kakashi had seen him more in the past month than he had for nearly the entire previous year.

He'd considered having Iruka start his story again, but the idea of Naruto coming in while Iruka was telling it horrified him too much. It was better to wait until after he'd gone to bed. 

There was something about Iruka that seemed off tonight. He was distracted, turning something over in his head as he placed the various dishes on the table. From time to time, he'd look out the window at the darkening sky and his frown would deepen.

Watching Iruka interact with Naruto had been enlightening. He was used to working with kids, and it showed. He made dealing with Naruto seem natural in a way that Kakashi would never be able to replicate. 

Kakashi did miss getting hours of stories every night, but listening to Iruka patiently work Naruto through his assignments was also pleasant. There were moments when Iruka seemed genuinely happy, liked he'd completely forgotten where he was. The way he lit up every time Naruto finally understood a difficult problem warmed something inside Kakashi that he didn't want to name. 

Across the room, Iruka glanced at him and opened his mouth, inhaling like he was about to speak, but then he faltered, the furrow between his brows increasing as he looked away.

"What is it?" Kakashi asked, unable to stop himself.

Iruka was quiet for a long time, so long that Kakashi thought he might not answer, but finally he spoke. 

"Naruto's tutor. Is his name Mizuki?"

Kakashi felt a jolt of surprise. As much as Naruto complained about his tutor, he'd never said his name. There was no reason Iruka should know it.

"Yes," he replied.

It was easy to see that Iruka was torn, preparing himself to say something. It caused cold dread to start twisting in Kakashi's stomach.

"What is it?" Kakashi asked again, more insistent this time.

Iruka took a deep, steadying breath, then looked Kakashi directly in the eye. "The thing you have to understand is that I've been friends with Mizuki my whole life. Or," he paused, grimacing, "I thought we were friends."

He stopped to gather himself again and Kakashi waited, barely breathing, trying not to demand Iruka tell him immediately.

Iruka shook his head, steeling himself, then spoke again. "I know you don't trust me, so this will mean nothing to you. But I don't think you should trust him. Not with Naruto."

The look on his face was raw and honest, and it sent a chill down Kakashi's spine. He might be a criminal, but Kakashi had seen him around Naruto enough to know that Iruka wouldn't hurt him. He'd bet Naruto's life on that.

Kakashi stood quickly, and Iruka looked up at him with worry in his eyes, clearly unsure how he was going to take what he'd just said.

" _Guards_ ," Kakashi called. 

Genma stuck his head in the room.

"Where's Naruto?"

Genma frowned. "He and his tutor headed out into the gardens earlier. Something about studying nature? Hayate went with them."

Iruka jumped to his feet, jostling the table as he did, panic clear on his face. He ran straight for the door, nearly bowling Genma over on his way out. 

It said something about how shocked Genma was that he didn't reach for his weapons or try to stop him. He looked after Iruka for a moment, then turned towards Kakashi, waiting for orders. Kakashi was too busy running after Iruka to give them. After a moment, he heard Genma running after them as well, yelling back at the other guard on shift to get reinforcements, though he wasn't sure for what.

Iruka was fast, but Kakashi was faster, gaining on him quickly. He seemed to be heading in the most logical direction, not truly knowing the way. Kakashi caught glimpses of the surprised faces of servants as they rushed past.

"Are you going to the gardens?" Kakashi yelled as he drew closer to Iruka.

"Yes. There's a six minute gap in your patrols once every evening when the guard shifts change. Why the fuck do you think I even tried to get in?"

The cold, twisting dread in Kakashi's stomach turned to icy rage at the implications of that, at the idea of someone trying to take Naruto from under his nose.

"Turn right," Kakashi said, just a step behind, and Iruka did. Together they ran through the palace and down into the private gardens that surrounded it. 

They found Hayate's body first, throat cut, blood pooled around him. Mizuki wasn't hard to find after that. All they needed to do was follow the poorly muffled yells of outrage from Naruto.

Mizuki had Naruto bundled up under one of his arms as he ran. He'd put a gag in Naruto's mouth though that didn't stop the boy from attempting to yell a string of what Kakashi assumed were highly creative insults. 

Even tied up as he was, Naruto wiggled around enough that Mizuki was having a hard time holding onto his small frame and more than once Naruto managed to get a decent kick in, causing Mizuki to curse at him under his breath. Naruto had been trained in various martial arts for years, and while he wasn't particularly good at any of them, he did know the basics and was attempting to use that knowledge. Mizuki seemed not to have anticipated the struggle Naruto was giving him, and it slowed him down enough that Kakashi and Iruka were gaining on him quickly.

Kakashi tried to assess the situation as they drew near. He liked to know his opponent's strengths and weaknesses before he met them head on. His ability to judge situations quicker than others had always been one of his strengths. 

Mizuki was armed with a kunai, possibly more. He had to have heard them approaching, if the extra burst of speed he'd put on was any indication. That would make him desperate; he wouldn't want to get caught. Everything depended on his motivation. Why was he trying to kidnap Naruto? Would he injure or kill Naruto now that it was unlikely he was going to kidnap him and escape? Or would he drop him in order to have a chance at saving himself? Kakashi didn't know him well enough to judge the answer to that. He needed to test Mizuki, but how to do that without hurting Naruto in the process?

Iruka didn't seem to be thinking the same way. He managed to push himself even faster, outstripping Kakashi and closing on Mizuki at a rapid pace. He rushed straight at him, without any semblance of a plan, and threw himself at Mizuki, regardless of the danger involved.

Kakashi wasn't the only one shocked by his reckless action. Mizuki was surprised enough it caused his grip to loosen, allowing Naruto to kick him again and finally wiggle free, landing on the ground with a solid thud. 

Momentum carried Mizuki another few steps, giving Iruka enough time to turn and bend down, to try to gather Naruto in his arms and get him out of harm's way. But Mizuki recovered too quickly. With sinking horror, Kakashi could see what was going to happen, though he was just far enough behind that he knew he wouldn't get there in time to stop it.

The kunai glinted in the moonlight as Mizuki plunged it down into Iruka's back, a manic light filling his eyes. Iruka made a muffled scream, but just wrapped himself tighter around Naruto, trying to protect him from getting stabbed as well.

Mizuki drew back the kunai to stab him again, but Kakashi was there, throwing himself between them, grabbing Mizuki's arm with a steely grip that prevented the next strike from landing. 

Mizuki twisted his arm free and sprang back, putting distance between them and getting ready to fight. Out of the corner of his eye, Kakashi saw Iruka, blood rapidly spreading across his back, gathering up Naruto and carrying him away. If a month and a half ago, someone had told Kakashi he'd feel relief seeing a thief carrying Naruto off, he would have scoffed at them. But now he just wanted Iruka to run faster and get Naruto out of there even quicker.

Kakashi could hear the guards approaching now, but he needed to take care of Mizuki himself. The guards knew him well enough not to interfere.

It was all over in a few minutes. Mizuki might have had some basic weapons training, but he was no match for Kakashi even when he didn't have a weapon on him. It was so simple to disarm him and take him down now that he didn't have to worry about what might happen to Naruto, or to Iruka. 

Given the way the blood was boiling in his veins, Kakashi was almost disappointed there wasn't more of a fight. Maybe a real fight would have helped calm the rage rushing through him. He hated the fact that he couldn't kill Mizuki right then and there, but he needed to know who he was working for and what his plans were. The way Mizuki's face paled as Kakashi held the kunai to his throat, just hard enough to draw a line of blood, would have to be enough for now. He'd kill Mizuki later, after the bastard had told them everything he could.

"Take him to Ibiki," Kakashi told Genma, then hurried to where Iruka was sitting with Naruto, a ring of guards around them. He'd put his back to a tree, clearly trying to hide the extent of his injury, and had even managed to get Naruto untied, though his hands were starting to shake and he looked pale in the dim twilight of the gardens.

"Are you okay?" Kakashi asked. 

Naruto looked like he was about to cry but was trying to put on a brave face. He nodded with determination.

Iruka nodded as well. "Other than being both figuratively and literally stabbed in the back, great."

Except his words were starting to slur. Kakashi could recognize the symptoms of severe blood loss with ease. Iruka looked a few minutes away from passing out. 

"Bring him to Tsunade," Kakashi commanded, gesturing to two of his guards. 

He had to physically hold Naruto back from following after them, which earned him two bruised shins, more than he'd gotten from Mizuki. He only got Naruto to settle down after promising that he could see Iruka the moment Tsunade said it was okay.

"It better be soon, or I'm going to go see him no matter what that old hag says," Naruto muttered, and Kakashi decided to let it slide.

It had probably happened in the first hour they were together, but Naruto seemed inextricably attached to Iruka. Kakashi could understand the feeling, though for himself, he was less sure when it'd started. 

Somehow, someway, Iruka had gone from nothing but a criminal in Kakashi's mind to something more, and he found that maybe needing to re-categorize Iruka wasn't such a bad thing after all.

~*~*~

Iruka woke on his stomach in a comfortable bed. For a few moments, he was disoriented. He rarely slept on his stomach and it'd been too long since he'd had a bed that was even semi-comfortable. And never one _this_ comfortable.

He opened his eyes to the dim light of the room, then he shifted and the burn of pain brought everything back to him. He tried to sit up only to have a hand gently but firmly push him down.

"None of that now. You'll ruin all my hard work stitching your back up," a female voice said. 

Iruka turned his head and saw a woman sitting in a chair next to his bed. She was beautiful, younger looking than he'd have guessed from her voice, and she had the largest pair of breasts he'd ever seen. If he didn't tend to prefer men, they might have been extremely distracting. 

"Is Naruto okay?" he rasped out.

She nodded. "He's fine, as unruly as ever, the brat. He's demanding to see you, but I told him he needs to wait until tomorrow."

"And my friends?" Iruka didn't think Kakashi would do anything to them, but he needed to make sure.

"They're fine too," she said. "They've been moved next door and would also like to see you as soon as you're up to it."

That surprised Iruka. Whatever he'd been expecting, it wasn't his friends being released. He let out a sigh of relief and relaxed into the bed. Maybe now things would be okay.

"You aren't going to ask about yourself?"

Iruka tried to shrug and immediately regretted the way it pulled on his wound. "I got stabbed in the back, I know how _I_ am."

She snorted softly. "You'll be fine. You're on some pretty strong drugs right now to help with the pain. But a few weeks of rest and you'll be good as new, with an impressive scar to show for it."

"How long was I out?"

"Not that long. It's only a little past midnight."

"You know," she continued after a moment, "I've been meaning to meet you for a while now. I think he needs someone like you around."

"Naruto?" Iruka asked.

"Him, too," she said, amused.

Iruka let out a soft _oh_. He wasn't entirely sure how he was good for Kakashi, but he liked the idea of it more than he would have guessed. "How is he? Kakashi, I mean."

She snorted again. "He's in the middle of a life crisis about who he can trust and the application of laws, but he'll be fine. He'll probably be in sometime tonight."

"If he isn't too busy," Iruka said.

She laughed. "I have a feeling he'd be willing to make time for you regardless of how busy he is. I'll let you rest now," she said, then stood and left the room. It didn't take long for Iruka to fall asleep again.

~*~*~

When Iruka woke for the second time, it was to Kakashi sitting in the chair beside his bed. In the soft light of early morning, he looked nearly as lost as he had on the day Iruka had first met Naruto.

"Hey," Iruka said, still half asleep. Kakashi didn't jump, but he did twitch. He really had been lost in thought.

"Hey," Kakashi said back softly.

"The lady with the gigantic breasts said Naruto is okay," Iruka mumbled into his pillow.

"Tsunade," Kakashi said, "and yes, he's fine. Alternating between trying to convince me to let him beat up Mizuki and to let him in here to see you."

Iruka was torn between frowning at the first and grinning at the second. "What are you going to do with Mizuki?"

"His execution is scheduled for tomorrow," Kakashi told him, voice turning cold.

"Oh," Iruka said, not sure how to feel about that.

"He was going to sell Naruto to the king of Akatsuki. He faked his credentials, tricked Naruto's former tutor into recommending him for a palace job, and tipped off the guards about some suspicious people he'd seen lurking around the walls. Then, he convinced Naruto's tutor that after years of teaching Naruto, he deserved an extended vacation while Mizuki covered for him. He hadn't planned on kidnapping Naruto for another week because it was closer to the meet-up date, but he panicked when he found out you were not only still alive, but also teaching Naruto. He figured it was only a matter of time before you'd find out about him and reveal that he wasn't who he said he was. Everything wasn't set up yet, but he thought it was now or never."

Iruka fought the urge to shiver at the ice in Kakashi's tone. He'd never thought Mizuki was capable of something like this. 

"Do you want to see his execution?" Kakashi asked.

Iruka swallowed hard and shook his head. "I'd rather you didn't execute him."

"He betrayed you and your friends, tried to kidnap Naruto, killed one of my guards, and stabbed you in the back. Why would I show him mercy?"

Iruka sighed. "I know. But he's had a hard life. Maybe in prison he'll rethink what he's done and eventually he'll deserve a second chance."

Kakashi shook his head. "Your friends said you'd be like this, but I didn't believe them."

Silence stretched between them, then finally Kakashi spoke again. "I'll consider it, but I make no promises."

Iruka supposed that was the best he could hope for. He nodded in acknowledgment. They fell into silence, but it wasn't strained, and for once Iruka didn't feel the need to fill it with stories to try to save his life.

Kakashi stayed at his side until he fell asleep again.

~*~*~

Kakashi was not looking forward to the long day of meetings ahead of him. He hadn't gotten much sleep that night, but they had to make sure there were no other flaws in the palace's security, and then they needed a plan to counteract any future Akatsuki schemes. If their king knew about Naruto, it was going to be a lot harder to keep him safe.

He was sharply focused when he had to be, but during the downtime, his mind wandered back to Iruka. 

"What are you going to do with him?" Kurenai asked. She didn't say who, but she didn't have to. 

In the chair next to her, Tsunade watched Kakashi with a calculating gaze.

"Naruto will mutiny if you try to execute him," Asuma said from Kurenai's other side. "I might even be persuaded to help." 

Kakashi didn't like how quickly Kurenai gave a matter-of-fact nod of agreement. He glared at them both. He hadn't intended to execute Iruka for quite a while now; recent developments had no effect on that decision. Even exile had started to seem too harsh a punishment. But that didn't mean he knew what to do with him.

"I hadn't decided," he admitted.

"You can't keep him as a prisoner forever," Kurenai said.

Kakashi knew that. Realizing he wanted Iruka to remain in the palace had been jarring and followed quickly by the realization that it didn't matter what he wanted. The entire thing was pointless. Even if Iruka did care for Naruto, he wouldn't want to stay, not in a place where he'd been locked away for well over a month and not with a person who'd treated him with nothing but suspicion. He had his own life to get back to, one that neither Naruto nor Kakashi would fit into.

Naruto would be devastated when he left. Kakashi didn't want to think about the epic fits that would be thrown over it. He'd blame Kakashi, who wouldn't even be able to defend himself against that charge. But like Kurenai had said, he couldn't keep Iruka in the palace forever, not even for Naruto.

Not for the first time, he wished they could have met under different circumstances, but he didn't let himself dwell on it. It wouldn't change the situation he'd put them in. There was no good solution, no way they would all be happy. But maybe he could find a compromise.

"The sentence for breaking into a place of residence in order to steal something is one year. He can serve that year as Naruto's tutor and then he can go free."

" _Kakashi_ ," Kurenai said, sounding disappointed.

Asuma pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.

"Do you have a better idea?" Kakashi asked, starting to get irritated.

Kurenai opened her mouth to say something, but Tsunade put a hand on her arm and shook her head. "The idiot needs to figure it out on his own," she said.

Kakashi scowled and tried to turn the meeting back to the topic at hand. Thankfully they let him. But word spread quickly through his advisers and commanders. For the rest of the day, multiple disgruntled looks were sent his way. Even Tenzo and Genma gave him disapproving looks the next time he saw them.

People could think he should let Iruka go immediately all they wanted, but this was better. It'd give Naruto a chance to spend more time with him before he left. Iruka would hate him for keeping him longer, Naruto would hate him for not keeping Iruka long enough. But it was fine. 

Iruka could serve his sentence and then he could go.

It was better for everyone that way.

~*~*~

When Iruka woke again, it was to find bright blue eyes staring at him intently, less than a foot away from his face. He nearly shrieked in surprise, then groaned at the way the sudden movement caused pain to shoot through his back.

"Oh, good. You're _finally_ awake. It's like, lunchtime already, but Tsunade-baa-chan said I absolutely-no-matter-what, under-threat-of-no-ramen-ever-again-for-my-entire-life was allowed to wake you up. Even if you slept _all_ day."

Iruka made a rather unintelligible noise, which Naruto took as an invitation to climb onto the bed. He was careful about it, but the shifting still caused Iruka to wince. 

"You were _so cool_ ," Naruto said, eyes glittering with excitement. "I mean, you did get stabbed and all, but still, you were _awesome_." He then added, as a grudging afterthought, "And I guess Kaka-nii-chan was _kinda_ cool too. But only just a little bit."

"He says you can be my tutor if you say yes," Naruto continued without stopping. "So you'll be my tutor, right? Like, my actual tutor, not my assignment tutor? If you're my actual tutor, I wouldn't even need an assignment tutor, which is even better, because who needs _two_ tutors?"

Iruka's head spun. This was not at all how he'd expected to wake up, and he suspected there was still a decent amount of drugs in his system.

"Uh," Iruka said, trying to work through the cotton in his head. Did Kakashi really tell Naruto that Iruka could be his tutor? He settled on not answering directly. "If it's okay with Kakashi."

That was definitely the right answer as far as Naruto was concerned. He threw his arms around Iruka, who groaned at the unpleasant twist it caused in his back. Naruto didn't seem to notice.

Naruto spent most of the rest of the day sitting next to Iruka until Tsunade came in and chased him out so she could change the dressing on Iruka's back. He hadn't even minded that Iruka was dozing off and on throughout his entire visit, if his constant stream of chatter was any indication.

When Kakashi came in later that evening, there was an aloof coldness around him that Iruka hadn't seen in weeks, and underneath it, a weariness lingered.

"Naruto says you've agreed to be his tutor for the rest of the year." 

Iruka blinked at him, mind still slow from the painkillers. He frowned. "The year?"

"For the rest of your sentence."

"My sentence?"

"One year of service for breaking into the grounds. It's a fair punishment. Of course the time you've already served will count, and you can have some time to recover before you have to start again."

Iruka's mind swam with questions. He'd thought... but no, of course not. Someone with Kakashi's reputation wouldn't forgive a criminal just because they'd gotten themselves stabbed in the back. He swallowed down his confusion and asked the only question that mattered. "What about my friends?"

"As they committed no serious crime themselves, they were given the option to leave, but they were adamant on talking to you before agreeing to anything."

Iruka wanted to groan. Of course they wouldn't leave even when they finally got the thing Iruka had been working toward since day one. 

"Naruto didn't mention anything about it being for a year," Iruka said as the silence between them started to edge on uncomfortable.

Kakashi grimaced. "I thought he might not. But he can't expect me to keep you here forever."

"No, I suppose not, " Iruka said, telling himself that forever didn't sound appealing in the least.

Kakashi nodded, then hesitated before saying, "You should continue to teach him in my rooms."

 _He still doesn't trust me to be alone with him_ , Iruka thought.

Almost as if reading his mind, Kakashi added, "I won't always be there. But it's nice... having him around."

Iruka nodded. "Yeah, it is."

They fell into silence again, but Iruka couldn't think of anything else to say, and it hung awkwardly between them until Kakashi excused himself.

~*~*~

The next time Iruka woke, it was only a few hours later, after a brief doze. Both Izumo and Kotetsu were sitting in chairs near his bed and Iruka was about sick of waking up to find people staring at him. He'd let this one last time slide though, too relieved to see his friends so close to freedom.

"Hey," he mumbled. "I heard you guys are out of the cells."

"Yeah," Izumo said, "they said we could leave the palace, but we don't know what's going on. We were told we couldn't go beyond the rooms they put us in unless we were being escorted somewhere."

"The King came down to the cell and demanded to know everything we could tell him about Mizuki and you. He said he tried to steal something and then stabbed you. What the hell happened?" Kotetsu asked.

Iruka groaned and then told them an edited version of what had happened, leaving out everything about Naruto as well as he could without lying. Mizuki had scammed his way into the palace to steal something important and had been trying to escape when they'd caught him.

"I knew that asshole was never up to any good," Kotetsu said.

Izumo nodded his agreement. "So does this mean the King is pardoning you?"

"I'll be staying for the rest of the year."

"Why the hell isn't he letting you go?"

"I did break into the palace grounds."

"And you've also been held prisoner for nearly two months _and_ gotten stabbed in the back."

"It's just a year, and then I'll be released," Iruka said. Kakashi might not want a criminal around for longer than necessary, but until then, he could help Naruto. He could do some good here. "I'm just glad you two can finally go home."

They both looked skeptical.

"I'll be fine," Iruka said.

"What's to stop him from killing you just because you looked at him wrong?" Kotetsu asked.

"The rumors about him aren't true," Iruka said.

Disbelief was written across their faces.

"Okay, fine. They're _semi-true_ ," Iruka clarified. "He's not as bad as people say he is."

They didn't seem convinced.

"Either way," Izumo said, "we're staying. And if you decide you want to make a run for it, we'll be right there with you. We'll get you out of here somehow."

Maybe Mizuki hadn't been his friend, but Kotetsu and Izumo were better friends than anyone could ask for. Even if they were offering to put themselves into jeopardy right after they were finally free.

But then again, he'd do the same for them, so he couldn't fault them for it too much.

~*~*~

The following day Iruka got up and slowly moved around the rooms, feeling the wound on his back pull with each step. But whatever Tsunade had done to it, it might have been magic for as well as it was already starting to heal.

These were _his rooms_ , he'd found out. There was a bedroom, a sitting room, and even a small private bath. It was bigger by far than any place he'd lived since his parents had died. Some clothes had been left for him, much nicer than the prison garb he'd been wearing. He'd prefer his own clothing. While it wasn't nearly as nice, he'd feel more comfortable in it. But he doubted they'd let him make a quick trip home just to retrieve a few outfits. Promises to return likely wouldn't help.

Kakashi had mentioned something about giving Iruka time to recover, but Naruto was apparently not on the same page. He was back in Iruka's rooms bright and early that day, carrying an armful of books and muttering something about proving to stupid, perverted people that Iruka really _was_ the best tutor ever and only previously mentioned stupid, perverted people wouldn't want him to be their teacher forever.

Iruka just shook his head and gingerly sat down next to Naruto at the low table in his sitting room. Tsunade's extraordinary skill aside, it was going to be a while before he had a full, comfortable range of motion again.

Naruto's resolve to learn everything known to humankind in one day (no seriously, _everything_ , even the boring stuff) lasted approximately two hours and thirty-eight minutes, an unprecedented feat of focus for him. Iruka had to admit he was impressed. If this was the result of almost bleeding out in front of him, maybe some good had come from the whole Mizuki disaster after all.

The rest of the day was spent trying not to doze off while Naruto repeatedly reenacted everything that had happened. He hadn't been scared, not the least bit. In fact, he'd managed to injure Mizuki to the point of limping well before Iruka (and Kakashi, he _supposed_ ) arrived on scene. 

By the time dusk had fully settled, that story had morphed even further. Somehow Kakashi had ended up being the one bound and in need of rescue while Iruka dashingly carried him away princess-style and Naruto single-handedly dealt with Mizuki.

"And then," Naruto announced, "I took him out like this!"

A tired-looking Kakashi slouched his way into Iruka's sitting room just as Naruto threw himself off a decorative table, mimicking body-slamming someone to the floor.

Kakashi stood there, blinking for a few moments. Iruka would be amused by his confusion if only the fuzz in his brain let him think of anything other than sleep.

"Naruto," Kakashi said, "it's past your bedtime."

Even barely conscious, Iruka braced for the whining that was going to cause.

"It is _not_. It's barely even dark out."

" _Naruto_." The odd note of warning in the way Kakashi said his name had Iruka curious enough to pry his eyes open again. It took a few tries.

Both Naruto and Kakashi were staring at him, Naruto looking almost... chastened? Iruka wasn't sure. Maybe he'd dozed off and missed something. 

Naruto turned back to Kakashi, glare surprisingly mild. " _Fine_ ," he said, "but first Iruka-sensei said that, um, there was... a thing? On his bedside table? He was going to show me?"

Iruka tilted his head to the side. Had he?

Kakashi sighed. "Fine. But then you need to go to bed."

"Sure thing!" There was a suspicious amount of cheer in his voice given that he was facing the horror known as an early bedtime. "Let's go, Iruka-sensei."

Iruka wasn't sure how Naruto managed to get over to him so quickly. One moment he was across the room, a blink of the eye later he was trying to tug Iruka to his feet. Granted, Iruka's blinks were currently on the lengthy side.

Iruka let out a groan as pain shot out from his wound. Sitting all afternoon had not been the best idea. His entire back felt locked in place. He was going to have to remember to get up to move regularly. Minor pain every so often to prevent more pain later on.

Warm, strong hands came up under his arms, helping him to his feet and steadying him before they disappeared. Iruka blinked, looking back at Kakashi, who'd already taken a few steps away. Though he did follow close behind as Naruto led Iruka carefully to his bedroom.

Iruka had never been so thankful to see a bed in his life. He all but collapsed onto it, sighing with relief.

"What was I supposed to show you, Naruto?"

"Oh. Right. Um." Naruto stared at Iruka's bedside table. There was only one thing on it. "That lantern?"

"The... lantern?"

"Yep, the lantern," Naruto said, grin overly wide. "You're right. That is a very nice lantern."

Iruka blinked at it. He'd never really given lanterns much thought.

"Goodnight!" Naruto said brightly, then bounded out of the room.

Kakashi, still standing in the doorway, watched Iruka for one more moment, nodded slightly, then turned to leave.

That had been... weird. 

He'd figure out what had just happened later. After sleep. 

He barely managed to roll into bed and onto his stomach before he was out.

~*~*~

It didn't take much to figure out what had been going on once Iruka was fully awake. Even less so when Naruto was hit by a case of suspiciously wide yawns around mid-afternoon and declared it his bedtime well before it started to get dark. Iruka played along for a few days, but by the end of the week it wasn't necessary.

"It's okay, Naruto," he said. "I'm not tired. You don't have to leave."

" _Thank the gods_ ," Naruto said, collapsing forward onto the table. "Do you know how boring it is to go to 'sleep' before dinner?"

Iruka chuckled. "I can imagine. How did you ever survive four whole days of it?"

"It was a close one," Naruto said gravely. "I really thought I wasn't going to make it. Not even _I_ am awesome enough to do that."

That night, long after Naruto had lost interest in his lessons, Kakashi came into the room. He seemed like he was going to say something then stopped, studying them for a moment. Iruka watched him carefully, figuring he was there to run Naruto off. But instead, he shrugged then walked across the room and settled onto a low, cushion-strewn chair. He didn't say anything, just pulled his orange book out of the loose folds of his robes and read while Naruto spent the next hour regaling Iruka with tales of what he was currently learning from his martial arts instructor, who, inept and perverted as he might be, still managed to teach Naruto skills he quickly mastered so adeptly that he easily outstripped said instructor.

Iruka might have caught Kakashi concealing a laugh or two at the stories, but then he had to do the same multiple times himself.

He started tutoring Naruto properly after that. Kakashi was often in the room in the evening, sometimes working on official paperwork, sometimes reading. Iruka caught him watching them over his book more often than before, though he went back to reading as soon as Iruka noticed.

Each night when Naruto left, often only after a bickering exchange with Kakashi about appropriate bedtimes, Kakashi left as well. Iruka had thought they'd go back to their old routine, but they didn't. What little direct interaction they'd had before was almost nonexistent now. Kakashi watched him teach Naruto for a few hours every night then slipped out of his rooms without a word, and Iruka didn't know what to think of it.

After they were gone, Izumo and Kotetsu were allowed to come see Iruka. They weren't locked up anymore, but they weren't allowed much freedom in the palace either, as the guards worked to make sure they didn't accidentally run into Naruto like Iruka had. And while he was overjoyed they were almost free, he was having a hard time talking to them without lying.

"Iruka, what are you doing?" Izumo hissed after Genma had closed the door behind him.

"What do you mean?" Iruka asked, though he already knew where this was going.

Izumo gestured at Iruka and then around them. "Your clothes, these rooms. You said you had to serve out the rest of your sentence, but criminals aren't treated like this."

"Listen, you know we were joking about you having a crush on the King, right? And we don't believe what Mizuki said, but..." Kotetsu trailed off.

"Are you sleeping with him?" Izumo asked.

Iruka could feel himself starting to blush. "I'm not having sex with him."

They glanced at each other.

"Do you want to?" Izumo asked carefully, like he was afraid of the answer.

Iruka's face burned even hotter. "It's not going to happen."

"That wasn't a no."

"It's _not_ going to happen."

"Iruka. He kills everyone close to him," Izumo said.

"He doesn't," Iruka insisted. "He just doesn't trust people."

"Does he trust _you_?"

Iruka shrugged uncomfortably. Saying no wouldn't ease his friends' minds. "He's not going to hurt me," Iruka said instead.

"How do you know?"

"I just do."

"Let us get you out of here."

Iruka sighed. This would be so much easier if he could just tell them about Naruto, they'd understand that at least, but he'd made a promise. "I need you to trust me on this."

They let it drop for the night, but Iruka knew it wouldn't be the last time he heard about it.

It took another week, but eventually he managed to convince them that there was no changing his mind about making a not-quite-prison break. He said he needed them to make sure everything was going well back home. And to make sure Anko wasn't plotting his death after having to cover for him for over two months. They promised to take care of things for the rest of the year and keep everything running until he got back. 

Having them safely out of the palace and knowing everything would be taken care of back home was a weight off his shoulders. He could focus everything he had on Naruto, and he threw himself into teaching.

Maybe it was because of his injury, but they continued to do their tutoring sessions in Iruka's rooms even after he had more mobility. He'd thought Kakashi would insist they move as soon as Iruka was better, but he seemed content to sit in one of Iruka's chairs and read his book while Iruka and Naruto worked together.

Over the next few weeks, each night Naruto seemed to drag out his studies a little more, asking Iruka to explain the same thing over and over again. It got progressively harder for Kakashi to get him to go back to his rooms at the end of their tutoring sessions. Naruto would get a concept then seem to mysteriously forget it around the time he should have been leaving for the night. It would have been frustrating except Iruka knew exactly what he was doing. 

"Naruto," Iruka finally said after it had gone on one night too many, "If you want to stay here longer, you should ask. Don't pretend you're stupid or try to manipulate us into doing what you want."

Naruto had the grace to look embarrassed.

Over the top of his book, Kakashi seemed surprised, probably at the fact that Iruka had recognized what Naruto was doing.

Naruto grumbled about unfair bedtimes and other such injustices, but eventually got to the main point. 

"I heard Gen-chan saying to one of the other guards that Iruka tells you stories with lots of great action," he said, looking at Kakashi. "But he's never told _me_ any stories."

Kakashi's eye widened, his expression so panicked it made Iruka bite his tongue to keep from laughing.

"I did tell Kakashi some very interesting stories," Iruka said, enjoying the way Kakashi looked even more horrified. Iruka leaned closer to Naruto like he was about to tell him a secret. "I can actually tell very _good_ stories," Iruka said, emphasizing _good_ for Kakashi's benefit, though it didn't seem to make its way past the fog of panic around him. "Do you want to hear one?"

"Is it a bedtime story?"

"Oh, yes. My best stories are all bedtime stories."

Kakashi looked like he was reconsidering the fact that he'd let Iruka live after all, but Naruto nodded like this was only logical. Iruka just tried not to laugh again.

And that was how Iruka found himself tucking Naruto into bed and starting to tell him a story. A very different story from the ones he'd told Kakashi, one that was much more like what he'd been telling children for years now.

Kakashi hovered near the door to Naruto's bedroom, panic still amusingly clear in his movements, like Iruka would actually tell an eight year old an explicit story.

"This story is about a boy and a demon," Iruka said, watching Kakashi freeze to deadly stillness out of the corner of his eye. Just because he wouldn't tell an explicit story to an eight year old, didn't mean he couldn't enjoy giving Kakashi one more heart attack.

But he didn't want to push his luck _too_ much, so he quickly added, "A boy who grows up to be the strongest ninja ever."

"Ninjas are _awesome_ ," Naruto said. "Does he have blond hair? All the strongest ninjas have blond hair."

"Yes, of course-"

"And does he defeat _all_ the bad guys?"

"Yes-"

"And is he the leader of the ninjas? Like, the best leader ever, way better than the old pervert he takes over from? And does everyone know his name and think he is the awesomest ninja?"

"Yes-"

"And does he-"

" _Yes_ , but first, he has to go to school."

Naruto frowned. "I don't think awesome ninjas go to school."

By the door, Kakashi was hit with a coughing fit.

Iruka resisted the urge to bury his face in his hands. There was going to be significantly more audience participation during this story than for any of his other, more recent stories.

"But it's a _ninja school_."

" _Ohhh,_ " Naruto said. "Does he have an awesome ninja teacher?"

Iruka grinned. "Of course." 

It was a very long story, one about a boy who would stop at nothing to save his best friend from darkness and Naruto was entranced. It wasn't explicit, but there was still plenty of action and drama, tragic deaths and perilous battles.

It took him longer to tell the story than any of the ones he'd told Kakashi, in large part due to all of Naruto's interjections. Iruka frequently had to go back and retell parts Naruto liked the most. There were a lot of "Is he thinking about that awesome fight he had with his best friend? I want to hear that part again!" detours and sometimes Naruto would doze off because he was staying up past his bedtime just to hear more, so Iruka often had to recap what had happened the night before. 

Iruka didn't mind though. If he could, he'd make the story go on forever.

~*~*~

Kakashi hadn't been sure what to expect when Iruka started to tell his story to Naruto, but he should have known he had nothing to worry about. As the boy in the story grew, becoming stronger and making his way out into the world, Kakashi was surprised to recognize some of the side characters as the ones from the stories Iruka had told him before. They were woven seamlessly into this new tale, though they were all seen from the main character's perspective, which was thankfully much more PG. But they were still there, still recognizable, and they had to be meant for Kakashi's benefit alone.

He was willing to admit that he missed Iruka's old stories, but this one was a decent replacement even if there wasn't any of the type of action he tended to prefer. 

Iruka captured Naruto's essence perfectly. The main character could be an obnoxious little shit, but there was an exasperated fondness to the way Iruka told the story that made it all too clear how he felt about Naruto. The character could be frustrating to deal with from time to time, but in the end he always did his best and tried until he overcame the problem before him. His awesome ninja teacher was easily recognizable as well. If Kakashi had needed any more confirmation, the fact that the character immediately became Naruto's favorite made it unquestionable. And though Iruka had a tendency to gloss over him, Naruto made sure he was always included. 

"And after he finished cleaning up, did the boy have ramen with his teacher?"

"Of course," Iruka agreed. "Eating ramen together is one of his teacher's favorite things."

" _Awesome_."

What caught Kakashi off guard was the ninja's second teacher.

"Why does he even need a new teacher?" Naruto asked.

"Because his old teacher can't teach him everything he needs to know."

Naruto made a face. "Are you sure?"

Iruka grinned. "Pretty sure."

" _Fine_. What does his new teacher look like?"

"Well, he's tall and mysterious and has gray hair-"

" _OH NO_. He's a total pervert, isn't he? All people with gray hair are perverts. It's like, science."

"I don't think that's how science works, Naruto," Iruka said.

Kakashi sent Naruto an unimpressed look that was promptly ignored.

"It's true, they're the _worst_. I bet all he does is read perverted books and think perverted thoughts and show up late for all his meetings and never answer anyone's questions directly and even if he is tall, he never stands up straight so he looks short and his hair is probably all messy and he wears a stupid mask all the time because he thinks it's _so cool_ and-"

Iruka laughed. " _Exactly_. And the first time the boy meets him, he plays a trick on him."

Naruto still looked put out, but was intrigued enough to let Iruka continue. 

More nights than not, Naruto found his way to leaning against Iruka's side, listening with rapt attention (but not rapt enough to prevent him from interjecting frequently). On a few occasions, Naruto even fell asleep all but curled up in Iruka's lap.

Kakashi watched and listened, but he never said anything, always hung back in the doorway. He didn't feel like he had the right to interfere. Even if Iruka was using some of the same characters he had before, the story wasn't meant for him.

But while Kakashi genuinely liked the story, the fact that Naruto had bonded so strongly with Iruka worried him. Because no matter how firmly Naruto insisted that Iruka should and would stay forever, he wasn't going to. Kakashi just wasn't sure how he was going to break the news to Naruto in eight months' time, when reality proved that unwavering belief to be untrue.

~*~*~

Whatever notion had infected Kakashi's advisers and guards and the kitchen staff, it eventually spread to Naruto as well.

Even when Kakashi finished with his meetings early enough to arrive at Iruka's before dinner, he hadn't been joining them at the table, instead making sure to eat something beforehand. But about three months after Iruka became his full-time teacher, Naruto was having none of it.

"You always tell me I have to clean my plate," Naruto said, glaring at Kakashi. For once he was sitting across the table from Iruka instead of next to him.

"Naruto, there's nothing on my plate."

Naruto made a face then grabbed the nearest serving dish, upending it onto the third empty plate the kitchen had sent with the meal. "There is now."

Kakashi sighed and stood. It wouldn't hurt to eat with them again. At least Naruto had grabbed one of the dishes with eggplant in it.

Naruto set the plate next to Iruka's, close enough Kakashi would have to be pressed up against his side to sit in front of it.

He grabbed the plate as he walked up to the table and sat perpendicular to Naruto and Iruka. 

Naruto gave him the most unimpressed look he'd seen in his life. Without saying anything, he grabbed Kakashi's plate again and slid it back to where he'd originally put it.

Kakashi reached for it, only to find himself in a bizarre tug of war over his dinner plate while Iruka watched with an amused expression.

Kakashi eventually got full control of his plate, but had to spend the rest of the dinner on guard to prevent Naruto from grabbing it and pushing it back towards Iruka again. If Iruka had even the tiniest sliver of respect left for Kakashi as an authority figure, there was no way it would survive this meal.

The following night, Naruto upped his game. He made sure there were only three cushions around the table, and that two of them were next to each other. Kakashi had visions of trying to defend both his plate and his cushion from relentless attacks.

In the end, it was just easier to sit next to Iruka, even if it did make him hyperaware of how close they were throughout dinner.

But less than a week later, that was no longer good enough for Naruto.

"What are you doing?" Naruto demanded to know from the center of his bed, glaring across the room at Kakashi who'd taken up his usual position by Naruto's bedroom door. "It's a _bedtime_ story, not a _doortime_ story. _Duh_." He rolled his eyes like Kakashi was the one being unreasonable.

Kakashi sighed. It'd be fine. The bed was big. Iruka always sat on Naruto's left, Kakashi could sit on his right.

Only when he got to that side, Naruto shifted all the way over. "There's no room for you here."

He went to sit at the foot of the bed only to have Naruto quickly wiggle down and get a foot in the way, starfishing out to take up the maximum amount of space his small frame could manage.

Naruto pointed to where Iruka was sitting. "There might be some room up there."

Iruka just shook his head and climbed onto the bed, scooting into the spot Naruto usually occupied. Only once Kakashi had perched on the edge near Iruka did Naruto decide to join them at the head of the bed.

Kakashi didn't remember much of Iruka's story that night, too focused on the lack of space between them, the warmth he could imagine coming from Iruka's body, the thoughts of what Iruka might look like in other, slightly less occupied beds.

~*~*~


	5. Chapter 5

It took time, but eventually Kakashi could focus again, even with Iruka so close.

The story and Iruka's proximity were good distractions. Kakashi had sent soldiers to find out what the king of Akatsuki knew and how much of a threat to Naruto he was. He'd rather have gone himself, but he'd long passed the point of being able to go undercover. So instead he had to wait and trust in others to do the work for him, something that had never been his strong suit. He and his advisers made contingency plans, but that was all he could do for now. The impotence of inaction ate at him, but he could let himself forget for a short while each night as he listened to Iruka tell his story.

The ninja's second teacher was cooler than he should be, kinder and more caring than Iruka had any right to make him. If Iruka had meant to model him after Kakashi, he'd taken more than a few creative liberties, enough that Kakashi wondered if the character really had been inspired by him after all. He protected everyone around him and was willing to sacrifice himself to save other people's lives. He was the one that almost defeated the demon and the boy who'd fallen in love and the one that buried them side by side in the end. 

Naruto had cried when the boy and the demon had died even though they were the bad guys. He didn't think it was fair. Couldn't they become friends with the ninja and go back to his village? Surely they were good now. But Iruka was unwavering. Sometimes, he explained gently, people couldn't be saved, sometimes people died even though it wasn't fair.

Kakashi had to remind himself yet again that the story was for Naruto, not him. 

Maybe it was the story or the restlessness caused by waiting for intel, but the situation prodded at him, made him want to do _something_. He just didn't know what. Each night after Naruto had been tucked in and they were leaving his room, Kakashi had to hold himself back from acting on that elusive desire, until he couldn't anymore.

As Iruka walked away, Kakashi stared after him. He inhaled deeply, preparing to speak.

Iruka must have heard, because he paused and turned back towards him. 

Kakashi had unformed questions floating in his mind, but he didn't know how to turn them into words.

Silence echoed through the hall as they stood there. At least his guards no longer felt the need to _guard_ him or Naruto from Iruka. He couldn't imagine how much worse this would be with one of them there.

Kakashi opened his mouth again, but nothing came out. Nothing could, not with Iruka staring at him expectantly.

Feeling like a fool, Kakashi nodded to him and turned away, trying to pretend like he'd just meant to say goodnight. Like goodnight was something they said to each other, like Kakashi had spoken more than a dozen words to him since he'd been in bed recovering from the wound he'd received saving Naruto from Mizuki.

"Those who break the rules are trash, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash," Iruka said to his retreating back.

Kakashi froze. That had been what the ninja's second teacher had said when he'd started training his team.

"It's a ridiculous way of thinking, isn't it?" Iruka continued. "Hard to believe anyone could be that foolishly naive."

Kakashi recognized the echo of what he'd said about _The Will of Fire_ so many months ago. 

He turned slowly. "What?" he asked, voice cold. He knew how he sounded when he used that tone, how easy it was for people to remember all the things he had done, had been accused of doing.

Most people would run away, Iruka looked like he was fighting back a grin. "Some people might even call in trite. The idea that you should sacrifice everything for your comrades."

Iruka was provoking him, trying to get him to take the bait. It was exactly what he'd done to Iruka every night during the week Naruto had been away.

Something inside Kakashi loosened, and he resisted the urge to grin as well. He may not know what to say to Iruka, how to talk to him about the things he needed to, but he knew how to do this. He could be an obstinate little shit with the best of them. 

He took a step towards Iruka. "Blindly following the rules, even when they hurt the people who you cherish, is far worse than breaking them."

"Rules should never be broken. If one person starts to break a rule, what is to stop everyone from doing the same?"

"If the rule is meaningless, why should it be followed in the first place?" Kakashi asked, looking down at Iruka, suddenly realizing how much closer he'd walked towards him while they were speaking, his feet moving without permission from his brain.

"You're going to have to do better than that if you want to convince me," Iruka said, not even bothering to hide his grin as he met his gaze, and Kakashi knew without a shadow of a doubt that Iruka was messing with him. He would sacrifice everything for his friends, they both knew that. But Kakashi didn't care. He'd _missed_ this.

Kakashi lost track of time after that, lost himself in the rhythm of their debate. They hadn't done this that many times before, but there was still a familiarity to it that buzzed under his skin. There was something addictive about pushing at Iruka like this, trying to get him worked up. He knew it was ridiculous, standing in the hallway outside of Naruto's room for over an hour, debating something they fundamentally agreed on, but he hadn't enjoyed himself this much in months. 

They both jumped when the clock tower started to chime at midnight.

"It's late-" Kakashi started to say the same moment Iruka said, "I should-"

They stopped, waiting for the other to continue.

There was a hint of a blush on Iruka's cheeks, something else Kakashi realized he'd been missing.

"Tomorrow?" Iruka asked.

Kakashi nodded. "Tomorrow."

And with that, they retreated to their own rooms.

Kakashi didn't sleep well that night. He hadn't slept well for a while, too busy turning plan after plan over in his head. But that wasn't what kept him up this time. Instead, he thought of all the things he might be able to get Iruka to debate him on. He might not have forever like Naruto kept insisting, but he could make the most of the time he had.

~*~*~

Planning to deal with Akatsuki continued, as did Iruka's story. The ninja got yet another new teacher. ("He has _white_ hair? But _everyone_ knows that the only people who are more perverted than people with gray hair are people with _white_ hair! I bet all he does is hang out at hot springs all day and try to look at naked women.") His best friend left their village in a quest for power and revenge and the ninja did everything he could to get stronger and bring him back. ("He'll definitely bring his friend back, just you wait and see.")

Given the nature of Iruka's other stories, Kakashi wouldn't be surprised if the two _best friends_ ended up being a lot more than that, but he trusted Iruka not to let it get explicit. Hopefully it happened completely off screen where Kakashi didn't have to think about it, because as much as he enjoyed Iruka's stories, having to think about Naruto in any kind of sexual relationship would scar him for life. 

And every night now, after Naruto was asleep, they debated again. They'd start the moment they left his bedroom. Sometimes they'd stay outside his door, other times they'd drift towards Iruka's rooms, though they never went inside. More than a few nights they stood outside Iruka's door until midnight, just pushing at each other ideologically because they could, because it was fun. 

It didn't matter that they knew the other was often playing devil's advocate. If anything, that just made it better. It was a puzzle, trying to decide which things Iruka actually believed and which things he was arguing just to be contrary. The fact that he could debate both sides made him that much more interesting.

They covered everything from philosophy and politics to crime and punishment to battle tactics and strategy. And when they ran out of big issues, they moved on to the smaller, but equally as important ones. 

"They're independent," Kakashi said.

"Loyalty is more important," Iruka countered.

"You don't have to take them outside."

"But you can't train them."

"You can if you try hard enough." Kakashi didn't mention he had an entire kennel full of dogs. It didn't matter. Tonight, cats were better and they would be right up until he got Iruka to agree with him, then he'd be adamantly in favor of dogs.

The debate over coffee or tea was equally as contentious. And even if Iruka had been staunchly pro-coffee the entire time, the following night, he'd grimaced at the coffee Kakashi had asked the kitchen staff to include with their evening meal then went straight for the tea just like Kakashi had known he would.

The topics getting lighter served as a counterpoint to his council meetings getting more intense as his soldiers finally started to return with their intel, and Iruka's story and their debates continued to be his nightly distraction.

But none of their debates prepared Kakashi for the next one Iruka started.

"Missionary," Iruka said, leaning against the wall next to his door, fingers playing with the ends of the tie that held up his hair. His head was tilted back as he gazed at Kakashi.

[ ](https://i-like-to-look-at-your-back.tumblr.com/post/618391413781069824/kakairu)

Kakashi could only stare at the line of his neck. "What?"

"Missionary," Iruka repeated. His cheeks were turning pink, but there was a mischievousness in his tone. "It's the best position."

Kakashi swallowed. His imagination was entirely too willing to supply him with images of Iruka on his back. 

"You don't agree?" Iruka asked. "I mean, it's a classic for a reason."

His mind had moved on to images of Iruka over him, pressing him into his silken sheets.

"You can kiss during it, which makes it intimate," Iruka continued. "The person on the bottom can get decent leverage and control depending on the variation. There's nothing quite like having a pair of legs wrapped tight around your waist, but having someone spread wide open under you is pretty great too. Or you can fold their legs up and make your thrusts nice and deep. And who doesn't like having someone grab their ass and pull them in hard and fast, as deep as they'll go?"

More images. A lot more images. Kakashi might have made a vague noise of agreement. Or maybe that had been a squeak.

Iruka grinned at him. "Or do you just not have a strong preference?"

"Ahh..." Kakashi was having a hard time remembering what words were.

"Well, just something for you to think about. If you decide you do have a preference, let me know." 

And with that, Iruka slid open his door and slipped inside.

Kakashi stared at the closed door for a full ten minutes before his feet remembered how to move again.

He made his way back to his rooms, mind still helpfully providing him with visuals. 

He was pretty sure the best position was whatever position Iruka wanted him in, but that probably wasn't the strongest stance to take during a debate.

~*~*~

The ninja's village was attacked by a powerful group of evil ninjas out to get him, and he learned about his birth and the destruction that surrounded it.

This part of his story was all too familiar to Iruka. The memories of the night he was basing it on still cut deep, and from the look in Kakashi's eye, it was the same for him. He had to have noticed the parallels to the Invasion. It was difficult for Iruka to tell, but he wanted to. He didn't let himself flinch away from it. Because in the end, it just made the ninja stronger and it let others see his strength as well.

As they made their way into the hallway after Naruto was asleep, Iruka tried to shake off the lingering melancholy he felt from his story. 

Kakashi was walking beside him, quiet and contemplative. There'd been something off about him recently, he seemed a little more distracted, a little less rested, though Iruka didn't know why. He was often lost in thought, occasionally for extended periods of time, before he'd shake his head and focus back on the present. The only times he was completely focused were when Iruka was telling his story and when they were debating.

Iruka looked over at him, waiting for him to return from wherever his thoughts had brought him. They'd been taking turns picking topics, and tonight was Kakashi's. Whatever he picked would be a good distraction, getting them both out of their heads and back into the current moment.

But Kakashi hesitated, his own internal debate clear. After a few moments of silence, he finally spoke.

"How did you survive after the Invasion?" Kakashi asked.

Iruka's step faltered. This wasn't the sort of thing they debated.

He glanced up, not sure what he was expecting to find, but Kakashi looked genuinely interested. 

Iruka considered it. It was one thing to play devil's advocate and argue over whatever random topic they could think of, but this was different. It was personal, far more so than anything they’d discussed before.

As they walked towards his rooms, Iruka took the time to organize his thoughts, to try to figure out what he wanted to say, what he was willing to tell someone who hadn't been through it. For once Kakashi didn't push him, just waited for him to speak.

When they got to his rooms, Iruka paused, then opened the door and invited Kakashi in. They sat across from each other at his table.

Iruka took a deep breath and then started. He talked about the Invasion. How lost he'd been afterwards, how he hadn't believed his parents were dead at first, how he'd had nowhere to go, no one to take care of him. There had been soldiers in the streets, helping families, making sure everything was secure. They hadn't helped Iruka. Some lone kid wasn't important to them. Iruka knew now that they'd probably assumed his parents were getting help somewhere else, but at the time it seemed like they didn't care.

He spoke about the others he'd found like him, too many others. Children with no families left, nowhere to go. Those kids had become his new family, Izumo and Kotetsu included. They'd watched each other's backs and learned to fend for themselves. The first few months had been the worst. They'd always been cold, always been hungry. But eventually they'd gotten better at it, the older ones helping the younger ones as much as they could. 

He talked about how it was the reason he did what he did now, helping orphans, trying to teach kids who needed it, getting them on their feet. There was no money in it, but he had to do what he could. He had a day job filing paperwork at a local office to try to make ends meet. Some of the kids he'd helped in the past gave him what money they could, paying forward the care they'd received. It wasn't much, but they made it work. 

Through it all, Kakashi listened. He was quiet and respectful. There wasn't any back and forth banter for once. When he did speak, it was to ask questions, wanting details or clarification. 

The whole thing made Iruka feel raw and open in a way he hadn’t in years, but Kakashi wasn't pushing or needling like he always did. He didn’t try to get a rise out of Iruka. He seemed like he honestly wanted to figure out what had gone wrong and how to keep it from happening again, and that more than anything was what kept Iruka speaking until well past midnight, until he'd run out of things to say and Kakashi had run out of questions to ask. 

"I'll send money and supplies," Kakashi said.

"Supplies?" Iruka asked.

"To your friends that are covering for you."

"Oh," Iruka said. He hadn't mentioned that even with Izumo and Kotetsu taking care of things, he still worried about what was happening while he was gone, if they were okay. Not to mention that Anko would likely kill him for leaving her with extra duties when he returned. "Thank you."

Kakashi shrugged, looking uncomfortable. "It's the least I can do."

He went to stand, but paused midway before sitting down again. For the briefest of moments, his hands fluttered nervously.

Iruka looked at him in confusion.

Kakashi glanced away then back at him, his gaze full of a startling intensity. "I'm leaving tomorrow morning."

Iruka blinked at him. "What?"

"Over the last few months, I've sent out scouts in order to determine the level of threat Akatsuki's king poses to Naruto. As far as we can tell, he wants to take over Konoha and he thinks Naruto is the key to doing that."

Iruka inhaled sharply. "What are you going to do?"

"We don't think he will give up on his plans, so we're going to kill him," Kakashi said, like it was that simple. 

"How?"

"He has a diplomatic meeting with Oto's king in a few weeks. We're going to intercept him on his way there."

"Who's _we_?"

"Myself and a select group of my commanders and soldiers. It'll be a surgical strike, we want to get in and out of the country without notice."

Iruka laughed shakily. "How are _you_ going to go without notice?"

Kakashi shrugged. "Before the Invasion, half of my missions were assassinations."

"Surely people will notice if the _King_ is gone for weeks."

"A month. And my advisers will make sure things continue to run smoothly while I'm away."

"But-"

"I need to see this done."

Iruka could understand that, but it didn't ease the unsettling feeling that had started to grow in his stomach.

"I'm leaving Tenzo here," Kakashi said. "To protect... Naruto. Out of all my guards, I trust him the most."

Iruka nodded, staring at the table between them.

"But," Kakashi continued, voice growing softer. "I want you to be the one to care for Naruto while I'm gone. I trust you with him. I know you'll keep him safe."

Iruka looked up sharply, breath stolen by Kakashi's words. _I trust you with him_. He never would have imagined hearing that from Kakashi. "Yes," he said. "Of course. For as long as he needs."

Kakashi nodded, but didn't say anything else.

"Does he know?" Iruka asked.

"No."

"You need to tell him before you leave."

Kakashi shook his head. "He doesn't need to know."

"What if something happens while you're gone?"

"Then it's better he doesn't know."

" _Kakashi_ ," Iruka said and was caught off guard by the way it made Kakashi freeze. It took him a moment to realize that while he'd said his name before, he'd never addressed him by it.

He took another breath and tried again. "You don't have to tell him why, but you should at least tell him goodbye. Just in case."

Kakashi hesitated, then nodded. "I'll tell him in the morning before we leave."

"Thank you," Iruka said.

They sat for a moment in silence until Kakashi stood up and walked towards the door.

"Kakashi," Iruka said again, unable to stop himself.

Kakashi paused, partially turning back towards him.

"Be careful," Iruka said.

He nodded once. "I will." With that, he walked out the door, leaving Iruka alone with his thoughts.

~*~*~

Iruka looked out the window, down into the palace's courtyard. Early morning light streamed over the small gathering of soldiers there. He almost didn't recognize Kakashi. Gone were the bulky robes, replaced by practical soldier's blacks and a sword strapped to his back. There was no bagginess or extra layers to conceal the power in his body as he strode around the yard, making last minute preparations.

Genma, Asuma, and Gai were with him, as were a few others that Iruka didn't know, including two women, one with long purple hair and another with short black hair. He thought the latter might be Tsunade's assistant; he'd seen her following Tsunade around more than once. 

Next to Iruka, Naruto's face was almost pressed to the glass as he watched, unusually quiet and still. Kakashi had kept his word. He'd told Naruto goodbye, and as soon as he'd left Naruto's rooms, Naruto had run to tell Iruka that Kakashi was leaving, a note of panic in his voice.

In the courtyard, Kakashi swung onto his horse, then looked back towards the palace. For one brief, suspended moment, it seemed like their gazes met. But then Kakashi was turning away, riding out with his soldiers, a pack of hunting dogs running alongside their horses.

He and Naruto stood there a little longer, staring out at the empty courtyard.

"Well," Iruka said, "shall we have breakfast before we start your lessons?"

Naruto looked up at him. "Aw, you're still going to make me study?"

Iruka chuckled. "Twice as hard. By the time Kakashi gets back, you'll know way more than he does."

"I already do," Naruto grumbled, but his heart wasn't in it.

Iruka put a hand on his shoulder. "Come on, let's go."

He tried to keep their routine the same, but Naruto remained abnormally quiet during their tutoring session and through dinner that night.

It wasn't until Iruka had tucked him into bed that he got him talking again.

"Alright," he said, as he slid onto the bed next to Naruto. "You've been awfully quiet today. Are you worried about Kakashi?"

"Why would I be worried about that old pervert?" Naruto asked, but his concern was clear.

"I know," Iruka said. "He's really strong. There's no need to worry about him. But if you did, maybe just a little, it'd be okay."

Naruto was quiet for a few more moments, then he looked at Iruka with eyes as wide and worried as his voice was small. "This is because of me, isn't it?"

Iruka weighed his answer. He didn't want to lie to Naruto. "The person Kakashi is going after wants to hurt you, yes, but he also wants to hurt all of Konoha. Kakashi is protecting you, but he is also protecting the whole kingdom."

"But if he gets hurt, it's my fault."

"No," Iruka said emphatically, "not even a little. The only person at fault is the person trying to hurt you."

Naruto thought about that for a while. "Okay," he said finally.

"Okay?"

"Yeah, Kaka-nii-chan is too annoying to get hurt anyway. He'll be back in no time."

Iruka grinned. "I'm sure he will. Now, where did we leave off last night?"

He started to tell the story, but it felt wrong. The bed on his other side was conspicuously empty. Naruto fidgeted as Iruka spoke and after a few minutes, he interrupted the story, though this time, not to add his own commentary.

"I don't really want to hear this story tonight," he said. "I've heard enough of it for now."

"I think you're right. This kind of story is better if you have to wait a little to hear what happens, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Naruto agreed. "If we wait a few weeks, or even maybe a month, it'll be so much better."

"It really will," Iruka said, unable to stop himself from grinning. "How about I tell you some little side stories about the ninja instead?"

Naruto looked curious. "Like what?"

"Well, you know how the ninja's teacher wears a mask?"

Naruto nodded.

"One day, the ninja and his friends decided they wanted to see what was under his mask."

"Oh! He's super ugly, right? Does he have buckteeth? Or really big lips? Or some weird mole?"

Iruka chuckled and settled in to tell the story. By the time he was done, they were both laughing.

"A mask? He wears a mask underneath his mask? What a weirdo," Naruto said.

"Definitely," Iruka agreed. "Now time for bed."

Naruto grumbled a little, but he let Iruka tuck him in again. Iruka ruffled his hair, which earned him glare, and wished him a good night.

Back in his own bed, Iruka stared up at the ceiling and told himself the same thing he'd told Naruto earlier. Kakashi was strong; there was no need to worry about him.

It took a long while before he was able to sleep though. And when he finally did, he woke with a start to a sound he couldn't place. He lay in bed, heart beating wildly as he listened for what had woken him.

After a moment, soft footsteps made their way towards his bed, and Iruka held his breath.

" _Iruka-sensei, are you awake_?" Naruto asked in a whisper.

"Yes, Naruto," Iruka said, letting out a breath.

"Oh, okay, good. I didn't want to wake you up."

Iruka shook his head, but he knew Naruto wouldn't be able to see it in the dark. "Were you having trouble falling asleep?"

"Umm. No. I'm fine. But I thought maybe, if _you_ were having trouble, I could, you know, stay here, if you needed me to."

"That's very kind of you to offer, Naruto."

"Just for tonight," Naruto said as he climbed into Iruka's bed, "I'm sure you won't have any problems sleeping tomorrow night."

"How about you come and check on me to make sure, if it seems like I need it."

"Definitely," Naruto said, stealing one of Iruka's pillows and settling in.

Iruka grinned in the darkness. "Goodnight, Naruto."

"Night, Iruka-sensei."

~*~*~

The woods were quiet, but Kakashi couldn't sleep, the need to move was too great. He slid between trees, making a circuit around their small camp, confirming what he already knew. Everything was secure; there was no one around.

Three more days and they'd be at the interception point. Even on horseback, the going had been slow, but they'd make it in time to lay their trap. Their plans were going smoothly, but still he was restless. 

As Kakashi returned from his rounds, Asuma spoke just loud enough for him to hear. "Did the watch shifts change?"

"No," he replied as he made his way over to where Asuma and Genma were sitting near the embers of a small, banked fire. He'd known they would notice him, but he'd hoped they wouldn't say anything about it.

"Funny," Asuma said, "because it seems like someone is patrolling right now. Even though Genma and I are the ones on shift."

Kakashi shrugged and joined them. There was no point in pretending he was going to be able to sleep tonight.

"Can't sleep without Iruka wearing you out now?" Genma asked.

Asuma chuckled. 

Maybe he should pretend to sleep after all.

"Speaking of Iruka," Asuma said. And no, Kakashi did not want him speaking of Iruka, but Asuma continued anyway. "I still can't believe you haven't executed Mizuki yet. You aren't going soft on us, are you?"

Genma snorted. "Iruka making him soft has never been the issue."

They both laughed this time.

Kakashi glared at them, but it had no effect. They'd lost all respect for him as an authority figure, if they'd ever had any to begin with.

He headed back to his bedroll before they could share any more of their insights. This mission needed to be over, and it needed to be over now. The sooner he could get back to the palace, the better. That way he wouldn't have to put up with these idiots for quite as many hours per day, and only for that reason. No matter what other people's theory on it might be.

~*~*~

Iruka continued telling stories of various adventures the ninja went on, none of them advancing the overall plot. The ninja faced his evil twin, hunted down a ninja ostrich, accidentally got stuck to his best friend for a few days, discovered curry that could revive unconscious people, helped a daimyo and a princess fall in love, and repeatedly tried to unmask his teacher. They were amusing, but he couldn't wait to get back to the main story.

The royal wing had never been bustling with people before, but it'd become nearly deserted. There was a small group of servants that waited on them, all of whom showed Iruka far too much deference for his own liking. They addressed him as _Sir_ now, no matter how many times he said it was unnecessary. And on one particularly horrifying occasion, he'd been called _Your Highness_. He was chalking that one up to habit, since the servants did call Kakashi that, but that didn't make it any less jarring to be treated as royalty.

Kurenai was around occasionally, which had surprised Iruka at first, but then he'd noticed the swell of her stomach. He saw Tsunade a few times as well, though he got the impression that she was handling most of the official duties of running the country while Kakashi was away. The only person he saw with any amount of regularity was Tenzo, who guarded them around the clock.

It'd taken less than a week for Naruto to move into Iruka's rooms, and Iruka was fine with that. They kept each other company in the empty wing. 

Not that Naruto missed Kakashi. Not at all. Not even a little. He just wanted to make sure Iruka wasn't lonely. After all, the palace was a really big place, and Iruka probably wasn't used to it yet. 

Iruka nodded solemnly in agreement. It was best if Naruto stuck close and made sure he was okay.

~*~*~

It should have been easy. They had everything planned so perfectly. But battle plans never went how they were supposed to, even the perfect ones. Kakashi had been fighting long enough to know that.

What he didn't know was whether or not Akatsuki's king had known about their trap, or if he was just a paranoid bastard. 

Kakashi and his soldiers had fallen on the king's caravan, all precision timing and well-honed skill. No one stood a chance against an assault like theirs. It'd been quick and vicious, bloody and brutal. 

And any sense of victory Kakashi had experienced as he'd run his sword through the king had vanished only a moment later when he got a good look at him.

He'd met the king before, multiple times at diplomatic meetings, and Kakashi never forgot a face. This one was close, eerily close, but it wasn't him. It was a decoy, not the king.

Kakashi had heard rumors of the king having body doubles, but he hadn't put much stock into them. He'd been wrong.

He cursed then ordered his soldiers to track down the few Akatsuki men who'd escaped their attack. They couldn't risk them getting back to the castle or sending word to the king that his body double had been killed.

They were in a remote area, still far away from Oto's capital. If they could stop those soldiers from alerting anyone, they'd have at least a week before word got back to Akatsuki's king that his delegation had been ambushed.

That would give them time. Not a lot of it, but they'd make it work. It'd mean riding themselves ragged for the next few days. It'd mean not being able to get back home on time, and not being able to send word that they'd be late. But they had to do it.

Once the king knew, he'd send people after them. Before that happened, they had to make sure they were in the one place he wouldn't look.

His soldiers returned to the designated meeting point, each one giving him a decisive nod as they did. They'd taken care of their targets. Word wouldn't be spreading about tonight.

With a nod of his own, he turned his horse towards Akatsuki's capitol.

~*~*~

Iruka stared out the window at the empty courtyard.

Tenzo and Naruto had both told him repeatedly that Kakashi was always late. It'd be more concerning if he showed up early, they'd said.

But that had been easier to believe when it'd been days, not weeks.

He could feel Tenzo's eyes on him and he wanted to say that he wasn't the one Tenzo should have been guarding, but he didn't.

"He's always late?" Iruka asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yes."

"But is he ever _this_ late?" He knew what the answer to that question would be too. It'd been written in Tenzo's extra watchfulness and the way Naruto's worry was becoming increasingly poorly concealed.

"No," Tenzo said.

Iruka grimaced then nodded. Just because he'd known the answer, didn't make it any easier to hear.

~*~*~


	6. Chapter 6

They were camped out at Iruka's table, halfway through the day's lessons, when Naruto suddenly froze, a preternatural stillness coming over him. In that moment, all Iruka could imagine was a fox with its ears perked up, listening intently.

A wide smile broke through the concentration on Naruto's face then he pushed up from the table, running at full speed towards the door, his robes a swirl of color and motion.

Iruka chased after him, not willing to hope he knew what that reaction meant.

He arrived in the hall just in time to see Genma and Asuma taking a step away from Kakashi as Naruto flung himself at him, hugging him tight around the waist. 

"Never be this late again, you pervert," Naruto grumbled, his face pressed into Kakashi's dirty uniform, the soldier's blacks a stark contrast to Naruto's bright orange robes and blond hair.

It'd be an adorable scene, but the little that was showing of Kakashi's skin was paler than usual. And though Genma and Asuma had stepped away quickly, they still hovered closer than Kakashi would normally have allowed. It wasn't hard to see he was about to fall over.

"Naruto," Iruka said. "Why don't you go tell Tsunade that Kakashi is home? She'll be happy to hear it."

Naruto pulled back and glanced at Iruka, a smudge of dirt now on his face. He squinted up at Kakashi then stepped away carefully, his hands outstretched like he'd be able to catch Kakashi if he fell.

"Yeah, Tsunade-baa-chan will want to know you're back. She's been complaining for weeks about all the work she's had to do because of you." With that, he turned and ran off, a streak of color down the long corridor.

Iruka exchanged a glance with Tenzo who nodded at him then turned to follow.

Naruto was barely out of sight before Kakashi wavered, but Iruka was ready, sliding in under one of his arms and taking as much of his weight as he could. Asuma and Genma had both moved towards him, but they'd been slower, and Iruka was hit by how tired they also looked.

"Is it taken care of?" Iruka asked.

"Yes," Kakashi replied in a rasp.

"Did everyone return?"

"Yes," Kakashi said again, and Iruka resisted the urge to breathe out a sigh of relief.

"Good," he said. "Now, you two, go get cleaned up and get some food, but come to Kakashi's rooms before you go to sleep."

"Yes, sir," Asuma said, his expression and tone only mildly teasing.

"I'd asked if you were going to _take care_ of Kakashi, but in his current state..."

" _Genma_ ," Kakashi growled, somehow managing to sound threatening even as he was a near dead weight in Iruka's arms, though neither Genma nor Asuma looked particularly worried.

They turned to leave, but Iruka called after them.

"Asuma," he said.

Asuma turned to look at him, cocking an eyebrow in question.

"Congratulations."

Asuma looked confused just long enough for Iruka to start to doubt himself. He'd only seen Asuma and Kurenai together a few times, but he'd thought it'd been obvious. Maybe he'd been wrong. 

But then Asuma was smiling, wide and proud, the exhaustion less noticeable on his face. "Thank you," he said, before turning away again.

One arm wrapped around Kakashi's waist, Iruka hauled him to his rooms. It was the first time he'd gone beyond the sitting room, and he was relieved to find it wasn't set up all that differently from his own, with a private bath off of the bedroom.

Kakashi tried to head towards his bed, but Iruka didn't let him, instead pulling him towards the bathroom. With Kakashi too tired to resist, it was disturbingly easy.

"If you get anywhere near your bed, you're going to pass out, and you really need to clean up before you do that."

"I'm not _that_ tired," Kakashi insisted. "I just need to sit for a few minutes and I'll be fine." His words would have been more convincing if he'd managed to say them without slurring them together.

Iruka gave him a look. "Suddenly I see where Naruto gets it from."

Kakashi blinked at him with slow, exhausted surprise, like the idea of Naruto taking after him had never once occurred in his mind.

The tub wasn't filled, not that Iruka had expected or even needed it to be. Given Kakashi's current condition, he'd rather not risk him falling asleep and drowning while he soaked. 

Instead, Iruka leaned him against one of the walls and started to remove his clothing. It'd been months since he'd last done this, and even then it'd been nothing like this. The simple fabric of Kakashi's uniform felt rough in contrast to his usual silk robes, and each piece Iruka removed revealed bruises in a multitude of hues scattered across his pale skin and fresh wounds just starting to heal, more than a few of them deep enough they'd been stitched closed.

Iruka maneuvered Kakashi onto the wooden stool. He was pliant under Iruka's hands, looking nearly asleep as he sat there, but the first bucket of water over his shoulders roused him out of his stupor. 

Iruka washed him carefully, trying to avoid his injuries. 

"What happened?" Iruka couldn't help but ask as his fingers edged around the worst of Kakashi's wounds, a jagged slash across his chest. If it'd caused this much damage through Kakashi's mesh armor, it had to have been one hell of a blow.

But Kakashi just shrugged. "Nothing."

Iruka gave him an incredulous look. " _This_ is nothing?"

"I've had worse."

Iruka wanted to call him on his bullshit. He'd seen his body and all his scars, none of them were close to this. This one looked like it should have been fatal. He opened his mouth to say as much, but Kakashi interrupted him.

"You're not blushing," he said.

Iruka blinked at him, realizing it was true. Every time they'd done this before, his face had been burning. But immediately after that realization, he felt his cheeks start to heat.

"Ah, there we go," Kakashi said with the hint of amusement.

Iruka realized what he was doing. "You're trying to distract me."

"Worth a try."

"What happened?" Iruka asked again.

"It looks worse than it was."

Iruka shook his head, but didn't push further. If Kakashi didn't want to tell him what happened, he had other ways of finding out.

Silence fell around them, but it wasn't awkward. The next time he glanced up at Kakashi, he realized that the lucidity he'd shown had been temporary. He was back to an exhausted daze, his eyes half-closed and unfocused, his breath slow and deep.

He finished washing Kakashi quickly, including parts he never had before. If he hadn't been blushing already, that surely would have made him start, though there was nothing sexual about it.

Rinsing him caused Kakashi to become slightly more alert again. But as Iruka watched his visible eye try to blink open, he realized he hadn't thought this through. For all the times he'd washed Kakashi, he'd never washed his hair or his face, and both were dirty now.

He stared for a moment, unsure what to do. There was something more intimate about this then quickly washing his dick could ever be.

"It's fine," Kakashi said, his words quiet in the space between them.

"What's fine?" He needed confirmation before he did anything.

"You can take it off."

Iruka slowly raised his hands to Kakashi's mask, giving him time to pull away or tell him to stop. But he didn't, just watched him closely.

Naruto was going to be terribly disappointed to know Kakashi was neither super ugly nor oddly proportioned, Iruka thought, trying to distract himself as he took off his mask and eye patch. 

If Kakashi leaned into his hands as Iruka washed his hair and face, Iruka blamed it on the fact that he could barely hold himself up. Only exhaustion could be the reason for the way his eyelids fluttered shut at Iruka's fingers running through his hair.

Iruka didn't bother making him stand again, instead starting to towel him dry as he sat on the stool.

Tsunade strode into the bathroom without knocking, a robe draped over one of her arms, just as Iruka was drying Kakashi's chest.

One of her eyebrows shot up as she took in the scene before her, staring at Kakashi's maskless face in particular.

Iruka made a grab for the mask he'd taken off.

"Seen it," she said.

He belatedly realized Kakashi was still very naked. He draped the towel over Kakashi's lap.

"Seen all of it," she said. "It's not that impressive."

Iruka wanted to disagree.

"I'm just surprised other people have seen all of it too," she said.

"He said it was okay," Iruka said quickly, needing to prove that he hadn't taken advantage of the situation just to see Kakashi's face.

If he wasn't mistaken, there was a hint of a smile on her lips, but she covered it as she set the robe she was carrying aside and walked over to them, making quick work of examining Kakashi.

"Is he okay?" Iruka asked when she stepped back.

She let out a huff. "The eternal question. My assistant Shizune was with them. She stitched him up. At this point, it's just a combination of blood loss and exhaustion. He'll recover from that. It usually takes him a couple weeks to get his strength back."

"Usually? He's done this before?"

"More times than I can count."

Iruka stared at her in shock. "He routinely exhausts himself to the point he can't even stand on his own?"

She shrugged. "He's a self-sacrificing moron who will run himself to death if no one stops him. But a solid week of bed rest will temporarily fix at least one of those issues. Two weeks would be even better."

Iruka nodded with determination.

"Do you need help getting him into bed?" she asked, her tone disturbingly amused.

"Um," Iruka said, failing to convince himself she hadn't intended the double meaning in her words. "I think I can manage it."

"I'll leave you to it then," she said as she left Iruka alone to finish drying Kakashi, dress him in the robe she'd brought, and steer him out of the bathroom and into his bed.

Like Iruka had predicted, Kakashi was out as soon as he was in his bed. Iruka took a moment to cover him with blankets. He watched him, his uncovered face relaxed, before he turned to leave the room.

In the sitting room, both Asuma and Genma were standing at attention.

"What are you doing?" Iruka asked.

"You ordered us here to report, didn't you, Sir?" Genma said. Neither were putting much effort into hiding their grins. Iruka was just glad they both looked clean and while not rested, more relaxed.

"Not like that," Iruka said in exasperation, gesturing towards the table. "Sit down."

The three of them had just settled themselves around the low table when Tenzo slipped in.

Iruka looked up at him.

"Naruto is in his room with a guard stationed outside his door. I didn't think he should hear this. I told him you'd go see him later."

Iruka grimaced but nodded. It wasn't ideal, he was sure Naruto was worried, but it was the best they could do. Tenzo joined them at the table.

"Tell me what happened," Iruka said.

Asuma and Genma exchanged glances and then shrugged before turning back to Iruka.

"The thing you need to understand about Kakashi is-" Asuma started, but Iruka cut him off.

"He's a self-sacrificing moron?" Iruka asked, startling a laugh out of Asuma. "I've heard. But how the hell did he get his chest slashed open?"

"Akatsuki's king was a paranoid bastard. He had six body doubles and somehow managed to put every single one of them in our path before we got to him. We'd prepared for one battle, we ended up fighting seven."

Even Tenzo looked startled at that.

"The first couple weren't bad," Genma said. "But by the time we'd killed off the third, he knew we were coming for him. Things just got worse from there."

"That slash across his chest? That was from the fifth body double," Asuma said. "Kakashi barely let Shizune stitch up the wound before he was pushing on to the next thing."

"He fought two more battles with a wound like that?" Iruka asked, eyes wide.

"When he's on a mission, nothing stops him," Asuma said.

"But, how?"

"It's how we were trained," Tenzo said with a shrug. "You shut off the pain and keep going. Some missions are more important than anything else. You rest when you're home, or when you're dead."

Iruka stared at him for a long beat. 

"Tell me the truth," he said finally, looking back at Asuma. "How close was he to dying?"

Again Asuma and Genma shared a look. Asuma nodded and Genma answered. "We think he did."

Iruka felt his breath punched out of him. " _What_?"

"Shizune didn't confirm it. But after he killed the king, we're pretty sure his heart stopped, at least for a while, before she revived him," Asuma explained.

Iruka swallowed hard. He wouldn't be telling Naruto that. "Tsunade says he's done this before."

"Not as often lately," Tenzo said. "Making him king has kept him in the palace more often, which helps in some ways."

Asuma snorted. "And hurts in others. He may be less likely to suffer grievous bodily harm, but that doesn't keep him from exhausting himself."

"I don't think he slept more than an hour a night for the first year he was acting as king," Genma said.

"Because he didn't trust people?" Iruka asked.

"Partially, yes," Asuma admitted. "But mostly because he thinks it's his responsibility, even if that means working himself to death. That if anyone should have to do something, it should be him."

"It's not that different from how he fights," Tenzo said. "If a fellow soldier is about to take a fatal blow, he'll step in, even if it means getting injured himself. And if he can't, he blames himself."

"We're not saying he's suicidal," Genma added, seeing the look on Iruka's face. "He just hasn't gotten the hang of self-preservation yet."

"Why?" was the only question Iruka managed to get out, though he didn't know exactly what he was asking. Why was Kakashi like this? Why didn't he trust people? Why did they let him do this to himself?

"Now that," Asuma said, shaking his head, "is Kakashi's story to tell."

"Anyway," Genma said. "You'll see what we mean. He'll be up by tomorrow, trying to do everything he was before."

Iruka frowned. "Tsunade said he should stay in bed and rest for at least a week, two preferably."

In unison, the three of them scoffed.

"You try telling him that," Asuma said.

"I will."

"He won't listen," Tenzo said. "We've tried everything. He'll be out of bed as soon as your back is turned."

That sounded like a challenge to Iruka. "I can keep him in bed."

Asuma and Tenzo at least had the grace to turn their laughter into coughing fits, Genma didn't bother.

"Yeah, I bet you can," he said, winking at Iruka.

Iruka felt his face heat. "I didn't mean it like _that_!"

"Mmhm," Genma said with a smirk.

"Well," Asuma said as he stood. "Good luck with keeping Kakashi in bed."

"Just make sure you let him get some rest," Genma added, standing as well.

They were both chuckling and placing bets on how long Iruka would _last_ as they left.

Iruka looked at Tenzo a little helplessly.

"My money will be on the full two weeks," Tenzo said with a straight face.

Iruka couldn't tell if he was kidding or not.

"I should go see Naruto," Iruka said instead. "You'll stay here and watch him? I think he'll be out for a while, but just in case."

Tenzo nodded and Iruka stood.

On his way out the door, Tenzo called after him.

"All jokes aside, Iruka," Tenzo said, "I'm glad he finally has someone he might actually let take care of him for once."

Iruka bit back the smile that idea threatened to cause and nodded in acknowledgment before heading out of the room.

~*~*~

Naruto was a small, worried lump in his bed when Iruka got to his bedroom. He had his blankets pulled up high, his wide eyes peering over the edge.

Iruka slid onto the bed, body angled towards him.

"Kakashi's going to be okay," he said in a low, calm tone. "He's just tired right now."

"He got hurt. He wasn't supposed to get hurt," Naruto said, his voice quiet.

"Yes, he did. But he had people there who could help him and make sure he got home."

"Because teamwork is important."

"Exactly," Iruka said. They were just going to have to make sure Kakashi learned that lesson too. "And, Kakashi defeated the bad guy."

"Well, duh," Naruto said, perking up. "Of course he did. He's even cooler than the ninja's second teacher." 

Naruto's face paled as he realized what he'd just said. "Don't tell him I said that!"

Iruka laughed. "He won't hear it from me."

"Are you sure he's okay?"

"Yes," Iruka said. "But I've got a very important mission for you."

"A ninja mission?"

"Something like that." 

"What is it?"

Iruka grinned and leaned in conspiratorially. "First thing, we have to make sure no one knows. Not even Kakashi."

Naruto nodded solemnly. "Of course! Ninjas have to be very stealthy."

Iruka just grinned wider. Kakashi wouldn't know what hit him.

~*~*~

Day One of their _mission_ had Iruka hauling the low table from Kakashi's sitting room into his bedroom so he and Naruto could have their lessons next to his bed. Kakashi was dead to the world for most of the day, only waking a few times, and he was surprisingly docile as he let Iruka help him to the bathroom and back.

With everything he'd heard about Kakashi, he should have known that wouldn't last. But it still surprised him when he arrived first thing the next morning to find Kakashi shaky, but on his feet, slowly pulling on his usual robes.

Iruka stared at him for a few moments before he got over the shock and found his voice. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Dressing," Kakashi said.

"Obviously. But why?"

"I don't make a habit of walking around naked in front of people."

Iruka wanted to point out that Kakashi had been walking around naked in front of him only a few hours after they'd first met, but he didn't bother. Instead, he considered his options. 

Kakashi was still weak enough, it wouldn't be hard to physically put him back in bed, but that was only a temporary solution. He needed something that would last longer. His mind tried to supply various ways he might be able to keep Kakashi in bed, and while he was sure Genma would approve of all of them, he didn't think any would be truly helpful at the moment.

Just as he was debating the need to resort to something desperate, Naruto came running into the room, skidding to a halt next to Iruka.

He looked around the room wildly, eyes landing on Kakashi. Throwing out a hand, he pointed a finger at Kakashi, his small chest puffing. 

" _You_!" he yelled.

Kakashi blinked at him. "Me?"

"Yeah, _you_. Don't act all innocent. It's all your fault."

Kakashi looked at Iruka in confusion, and Iruka didn't need to fake the baffled look he gave him in return.

"What's my fault?" Kakashi asked.

"Iruka refused to tell me the story while you were gone! I told him it was okay, that you were a dummy who didn't deserve to hear the rest, but did he listen to me? _NOOOO_. So I had to wait until your old perverted butt came back just to hear more! _TWO MONTHS_ of waiting! That's like _FOREVER_. I had to wait so long, I thought I was going to die."

 _Well_ , Iruka thought, _that could work_.

He probably shouldn't encourage this type of behavior, but desperate times called for blatantly obvious guilt trips.

Iruka shrugged. "It'd be a waste to tell a story about such an awesome character to only one person."

" _See_?" Naruto whined, tears forming in his eyes and his voice starting to waver. "It's all your fault! If you hadn't left, I would know what happens in the end by now!"

Kakashi looked back and forth between them, his expression shifting between guilt, confusion, and panic. Iruka doubted he'd had to deal with crying children very often in his life.

He'd feel bad about doing this, but really, it was for Kakashi's own good.

"I..." Kakashi started to say, "We can, uh, tonight?"

Naruto crossed his arms over his chest. " _Tonight_? How is Iruka supposed to tell _two month's_ worth of story in _one night_?"

"We can start early?" Kakashi tried.

Naruto's lower lip quivered. 

"...Or... or now?"

Naruto grinned brightly. " _Awesome_." Then he frowned at Kakashi. "Well? Why aren't you getting into bed?"

"Uh," Kakashi said, setting down the robe he'd been putting on. "Okay?"

Iruka stood back and watched Naruto somehow manage to not only get Kakashi into bed, but also to make him scoot into the center, effectively trapping him between them, like _this is all your fault so you have to be in the middle_ was a logical, valid reason for anything.

It took all of his will-power not to laugh, especially when Naruto turned back towards him when he thought Kakashi wasn't looking and winked. 

Naruto climbed into bed on Kakashi's right, Iruka settled in on his left. He'd never told a story for an entire day before, let alone two weeks, but he was willing to give it a try. 

And if he started with an hour-long recap of everything that had happened so far just so he could get back into things, well, they could blame that on Kakashi too.

~*~*~

For all Kakashi's insistence that he was _fine_ , he dozed off a lot more than a perfectly healthy person ever would. Every few hours he'd fall asleep, giving Iruka and Naruto a chance to take breaks from their self-imposed watch, though Iruka did keep an eye on Kakashi even during those times. He wouldn't put it past him to fake sleep until their guard was down, then make a break for it.

But for the most part, he was a good patient, and Naruto's guilt trip lasted a full week, through the countdown to the final battle in the ninja's story, before they needed to get more creative.

One day Naruto managed to hold Kakashi captive by telling him about everything he'd studied during the last two months. In excruciatingly precise detail. Kakashi kept sending Iruka desperate looks, which Iruka serenely ignored. All good teachers knew that having their students teach someone else the material increased their retention and comprehension. Even if they were only getting it about sixty percent correct. He made mental notes of all the things he'd need to review with Naruto later.

The next day, with help from Tsunade, Iruka was able to procure a 100-year-old, 250-page accord with Grass Country on land and water management that urgently needed updating. Kakashi fell asleep four times while reading it, though it wasn't because of his recovery. 

The day after that was dominated by Naruto demonstrating every single martial arts move he'd learned while Kakashi was away, and probably more than a few that he'd made up. Iruka doubted any serious warrior would ever consider poking someone in the ass a viable battle tactic.

They had a lot of close calls, but they managed to make it through the full two weeks without letting Kakashi leave his bedroom. Though eventually even Iruka had to admit he couldn't keep Kakashi in bed any longer and that he was more than ready to go back to work. 

Which was why Day Fifteen of their mission found them back in Iruka's room, working on Naruto's studies for the first time in two weeks. 

Kakashi poked his head into Iruka's room about an hour later. He was fully dressed and thoroughly confused.

"Why are you here?" Naruto asked when he noticed him. "I mean, all you've been doing for weeks is lying around in bed. Don't you ever have work to do?"

Iruka had to bite his lip to keep from smiling. When he glanced back up, Kakashi was staring at his mouth.

"Uh," Kakashi said. "Right. Just here to... check on you?"

He started to retreat, but Iruka called after him. "Dinner starts at seven."

Kakashi paused for a moment, nodded, then left.

~*~*~

They tried to go back to how things were before Kakashi had left. Iruka tutored Naruto during the day, then they tucked him in together at night.

Naruto continued to insist that Kakashi needed to sit on the bed with them, and each night Kakashi ended up a tiny fraction of an inch closer to Iruka than the night before. At the rate he was going, he might brush against Iruka sometime before Naruto's eighteenth birthday. Not that they had that much time, Iruka reminded himself. There was only a little over a month left in his sentence.

It was getting ridiculous, Iruka thought. For all that they were pretending nothing had changed, everything felt different now. Kakashi's eyes were warm banked fires each night when they left Naruto's rooms. It wasn't the hot desire that Iruka had been deliberately lighting each night in order to get Kakashi to want to hear more, it felt like something warmer, deeper, full of want.

Iruka couldn't help but respond to it. He knew he shouldn't, he was already in this too deep. Leaving the palace after his year was up was going to hurt, getting further involved with Kakashi would only make it worse. 

Each night they lingered a little longer outside of Iruka's rooms, not yet ready to go their separate ways, using their debates as an excuse, though more often than not they were just repeating the same points they'd made before. Trying to work Kakashi up this way was getting a little less satisfying each time they did it.

It was during one of those moments, standing closer to Kakashi than could ever be considered polite, that an impulse struck Iruka, one he acted on before he could talk himself out of it.

"I never finished the story I was telling you."

Kakashi froze, studying Iruka's face. 

"Do you want me to finish it?"

Kakashi inhaled sharply. Even in the low lantern light of the hall, Iruka could see the way his pupils dilated at the thought.

"Only if you want to," Kakashi said, voice just edging on rough.

Iruka was almost surprised to realize how certain his answer was. "I do."

He slid his door open and let Kakashi in, though they both hesitated for a moment once they stepped inside.

Every time they'd done this before, they'd been in Kakashi's sitting room or the baths, Kakashi lounging on a chair or in the tub and Iruka kneeling or standing nearby. That didn't feel right, not now, not after nights of having Kakashi lying next to him as he told Naruto his story. He didn't like the idea of sitting at his table either. It was too linked to teaching Naruto. The idea of telling Kakashi dirty stories while sitting there made him uncomfortable.

Iruka took a breath and walked towards the arrangement of low, cushion-covered chairs on the side of his sitting room. Kakashi always sat on one when he was watching their lessons and Iruka took the closest one to it. 

Following his lead, Kakashi settled on his usual chair, his body angled towards Iruka. He was so still, he might have been holding his breath.

Iruka gathered himself, trying to get into the right mindset for the story he was about to tell. It'd been so long since the last time they'd done this and so much had changed since then. He let out a breath and dove in.

"Now, where was I? Oh, right. The story of a young man who gave up everything to save his brother and the shark demon he found comfort with afterwards."

~*~*~

Kakashi had remembered Iruka's stories turning him on, but there was something different about them now. It wasn't the characters or the situations that made desire run in his veins, it was Iruka's voice, each word that he said, the tone that made it clear he knew the power he had over Kakashi like this. His eyes glittered whenever he got to a part he knew would work Kakashi up, like he enjoyed watching him try not to squirm, try not to touch himself, try not to beg for things he couldn't have.

Even with all the layers he was wearing, there were nights it was still far too clear exactly how much Iruka's stories affected him. 

Anytime he'd managed to delude himself into thinking that maybe, just maybe, he was wearing enough layers to make it not entirely obvious, he'd pass Genma patrolling the halls after leaving Iruka's rooms. The asshole would look him over once and smirk at him. Just smirk and nothing more.

"Shut up," Kakashi grumbled after a particularly stimulating night.

Genma laughed and continued on his rounds.

He had the _worst_ timing. 

This insubordination thing that Iruka had started was really going to have to stop if Kakashi wanted anyone left in the kingdom to respect him.

But even the irritation that no one in his life fully understood the situation didn't stop him from shutting himself in his private bath every night after he left Iruka's.

It was embarrassingly easy to get himself off like this, stripping quickly and leaning against the nearest wall and just _imagining_. What would it have been like if Iruka's hands had strayed a little more while he'd washed him, if he'd mouthed the words of his stories against Kakashi's skin? What if he'd agreed to suck Kakashi off that first time they'd met, sliding to his knees before him?

Kakashi hated himself for getting off to that last one. He wouldn't have wanted it then, and he wouldn't have started to respect Iruka if he had, but the idea of Iruka's mouth proving to be just as talented at other things was hard to resist.

Once again he found himself thinking about what it would have been like if they'd met under different circumstances, if they could pretend none of this had happened. 

He didn't let himself think about the fact that what got him off the hardest, the quickest, was the idea of Iruka in his bed, molded to his back, moving slowly in him, breath hot against his ear as he whispered filthy words that had nothing to do with fictional characters or tragic love stories. It stole his breath and made his vision white out whenever he was weak enough to think about it with his own hand wrapped around his dick and Iruka's name on his lips.

But there was no point in dwelling on something that wasn't going to happen. Iruka's year would be up soon and all this would be over.

~*~*~

Telling Kakashi dirty stories every night made things worse, not better. It made the building desire Iruka felt that much harder to ignore. But then he'd known it would do that from the start.

There were too many things he wanted now. He wanted to make Kakashi beg, he wanted Kakashi to ask him to get on his knees again, and that was only the start of it. The list of things he wanted would last him for hundreds of more stories, thousands even. He wanted other things too, things that had nothing to do with sex, but it was better not to think about those.

More than a few times, he'd thought about how things could go differently as he told his stories. Even before, his eyes had often been drawn to the tent in Kakashi's thin sleep robe. It hadn't been every night, there were definitely stories Kakashi had been more into than others, but on certain nights, he'd kept Kakashi semi-hard for hours. That shouldn't feel like an accomplishment, but it did.

It was much less noticeable now, with Kakashi in all his layers, but Iruka could still tell. There was a heady thrill in knowing that his words alone could do that to someone, to _Kakashi_.

Kakashi often laid sprawled out on the low chair, his head tilted back, one of his hands resting on his thigh, close to his dick, but not touching it. Occasionally his fingers would move against his leg in short, aborted movements like he was losing the fight to keep from touching himself.

What would it be like if Iruka gave in, shifted closer, closed the distance between them, placed his hands on Kakashi's knees? Would Kakashi jump at the touch, eyes coming open to watch him, would he pull away, or would he let his legs fall open, making room for whatever Iruka wanted to do?

After Kakashi had left for the night, Iruka would palm himself as he imagined sliding his hands up Kakashi's thighs, the soft rasp and slide of fine silk against strong muscle. Kakashi would shift under his hands the same way he'd done as he'd washed him. Iruka still marveled at the strength and power in his body, how different it was from his preconceived notion of a lazy, indolent king's. He'd never been happier to have been wrong in his life.

Maybe he could press his cheek against one of Kakashi's thighs, breathe the words of his story against his cloth-covered cock as he worked his hand up the other thigh, watching the way it made Kakashi twitch in his robes. He'd tell him something designed to get him as hard as he could without touching him. It was easy to imagine the damp patch of precome on silk, to think about mouthing at that spot between the words of his story, tasting Kakashi's desperation and want.

Kakashi might stare down at him, breath rapid and shallow, hands fisted in the cushions like he was afraid to touch him, like it might scare him off. But at the first brush of Iruka's lips, his legs would fall open even further. He might thread his fingers through Iruka's hair, guide his head when Iruka finally got tired of teasing and eventually took him in his mouth.

He wasn't ashamed by how quickly he got off to that image.

But in the quiet moments afterwards, he was haunted by the other things he wanted. Finding out what it'd be like if he didn't have this countdown running in his head, reminding him constantly that his time in the palace was almost over. Being there to see Naruto grow up and become the king Iruka knew he could be. Knowing what it'd feel like to have Kakashi trust him completely. It was getting too easy to imagine a future that didn't exist.

But as time was running out, Iruka was coming to realize that an impossible future didn't have to mean sacrificing the things he could have right now, even if they were fleeting. Having something for a brief moment was better than not having it at all. He wouldn't trade his time with Naruto for the world, even if leaving him at the end of the year was going to hurt more than taking a kunai to the back. Maybe a few nights with Kakashi would be better than none at all.

He knew he was an idiot for wanting that, but he wasn't blind. Kakashi might not want everything Iruka did, but he wasn't the only one who wanted more than dirty stories and unsatisfying solo sessions afterwards.

Kakashi wasn't going to ask for what he wanted, Iruka knew that much. He might push and tease at Iruka verbally during their debates, he might let Iruka's words turn him on, but he didn't reach out for more. He must have his reasons for holding himself back. Maybe he was still hung up on the fact that Iruka was a criminal, or he didn't want a repeat of their first night. Maybe he never asked for things he truly wanted, because he didn't think he deserved them or he didn't trust people with that honest part of himself. Or maybe he simply thought he could get what he wanted without asking for it nicely. Iruka wasn't sure, though he did have a theory. 

But regardless of the reason, Iruka wanted him to ask for more, to admit there was something between them, even if it was only temporary.

And if, somehow, he'd read the situation incorrectly and Kakashi didn't want that, there were only a few days of his sentence left.

This wasn't the first foolish thing he'd done, and it wouldn't be the last. After all, when it came down to it, he'd rather regret something he'd done than something he'd never even tried to do.

~*~*~

The clock tower chimed midnight, bringing Iruka's story to its nightly stop. They still used it as an unofficial end to their time together. Iruka didn't always end on cliffhangers like he had in the past, but then that was no longer required for Kakashi to want more.

Kakashi stood to leave, wanting to say something, wanting to act like Naruto just once and ask for a little more. Iruka's year was almost up and he only had a few more nights left of this. But he didn't ask, he didn't push. He reminded himself of all the reasons why Iruka would never want to stay.

He nodded to Iruka and turned to walk out the door, but Iruka's voice stopped him.

"What do you usually do after this?" Iruka asked.

Kakashi's mind supplied him with a quick succession of memories of all the times he'd gone to jerk off directly after leaving, the rhythm of Iruka's words still playing in his head. His cheeks burned and he knew his mask wasn't covering all of it, but still he turned back.

"I..." Kakashi said, faltering slightly. "I usually just bathe and go to bed."

There was a glint in Iruka's eyes that said he knew exactly what Kakashi was leaving out of that sentence, but when he spoke he started to blush as well.

"I..." Iruka said, and now it was his turn to falter, but he continued. "I could help with that. If you'd like."

Kakashi's blood rushed at the thought. He pressed his eyes closed, willing himself not to demand or beg for something more than what Iruka was offering.

"Only if you want to," he said, echoing his answer from when Iruka had offered to tell him stories again.

He opened his eyes, meeting Iruka's gaze, and was surprised at how clearly he could read his answer.

"I do."

Kakashi thought briefly about leading Iruka back to his rooms, pulling him into his bedroom, his private bath, but it was too much, too intimate, too close to things he couldn't have. So instead he led Iruka to the large baths they'd always used before. There was a familiarity to this, a safety to the patterns they'd created there. 

He could barely breathe as they entered the room. Tension ran through his body, a curling desire that was already making his dick start to harden. He wanted this, but more than that, he wanted Iruka to want it for more than just this one moment.

The blush on Iruka's cheeks was familiar from the weeks they'd done this before, but the way he glanced up at Kakashi through his lashes was new and inviting and made Kakashi's fingers itch to reach out and touch him, to slip Iruka's clothes off as well. He didn't though. Instead he stood there as Iruka stripped him in a slow, deliberate way that slid silk across his skin and made it seem like he was savoring it as much as Kakashi was.

He was hard enough to make an obvious bulge in his pants even before Iruka got to his belt, but that didn't deter him. Iruka stepped in close and untied his belt, sliding it from around Kakashi's waist before kneeling in front of him. Kakashi swallowed hard and nearly closed his eyes at the sight of it. Iruka's fingers slid along the ties of his hakama, loosening them just enough that he could slowly drag the pants down. Kakashi held his breath as the fabric slid over his cock with enough pressure to make him shudder. When Iruka glanced up at him, all Kakashi could do was stare. 

If he thought the way Iruka removed his pants was a test of his will power, it was nothing compared to the feeling of Iruka's fingers slipping into the wrappings of his underwear. Iruka's fingertips grazed the sides of his hips before hooking on to the wrapped band and starting to undo it. Again the material dragged along his dick before it sprang free. If Iruka had somehow managed to miss how this was affecting him, there was no way he could miss it now, not with the heated way he looked up into Kakashi's eye, his mouth parted slightly. Kakashi bit back a groan at the sight and willed himself not to weave his fingers into Iruka's long hair and pull him just a little bit closer, close enough to take Kakashi into his mouth if he wanted.

Before Kakashi could do anything foolish, Iruka rose to his feet, Kakashi's clothes in hand. He turned away and draped them over the racks in the room and Kakashi took the moment to try to get himself together. He wasn't particularly successful.

Iruka quickly removed his outer robes and draped them across the racks as well. They weren't as elaborate as Kakashi's, but they were still long enough, it'd be impossible not to get them soaked. Even if it was only a practical move, Kakashi wanted him to keep going.

Iruka gestured for him to sit on one of the low wooden stools. Most of the time he'd washed him, it had been mechanical, clinical almost. This time his hands weren't so careful. That would have been maddening enough, but there was one other change as well.

He'd never told his stories while he was washing Kakashi. That had always been a line that he wouldn't cross. He wouldn't touch him while hot words of sex and love spilled from his mouth.

This time was different.

He started to speak as he poured the first bucket of water over Kakashi's back, his voice low and caressing. He picked up right where he'd left off before, tonight's story about an artist and a puppeteer.

His fingers trailed along Kakashi's skin, dug into stiff muscles, slid down the crack of his ass, though they didn't go far enough. From time to time he gave up any pretense of washing and stroked Kakashi's fingers in ways that would usually be reserved for a cock or ran a thumb deliberately over one of his nipples, making him inhale sharply. 

Iruka's words were steady, they didn't falter as he ran soapy hands over Kakashi's body, his fingers lingering on sensitive areas. He leaned in close on the pretense of reaching for something just to whisper parts of his story directly into Kakashi's ear. Having Iruka tease him like this made him throb with want. 

His hands twitched at his sides, but he kept them to himself, refusing to give in to the desire to wrap a hand around himself or reach out and touch Iruka. Instead, he let Iruka do what he wanted. And if he could stop himself from touching, he wasn't as successful when it came to suppressing the quiet noises of pleasure he emitted at the sensations coursing through his body.

Iruka knelt in front of him, hands slowly working up one calf, making Kakashi's legs fall open automatically. His hands slid nearly all the way up one thigh before sliding back down then starting over with the other leg. All Kakashi could do was hold his breath. Iruka had never gone this far before. With the exception of the one time he'd been injured, something that Kakashi didn't think should count since he could barely remember it, Iruka would only wash him to mid-thigh then leave the rest to Kakashi. Some of the criminals he'd tested had used it as a chance to try to seduce him, with their hands or the occasional brave one leaning forward to try to take him into their mouth. He'd never let anyone get that far, usually a sharp word of warning was all it took to have people cowering backwards. But Iruka had never tried anything of the sort, and the feeling of his hands sliding all the way up his inner thighs was sweet torture. 

And through the whole thing, his story continued. Both characters had skillful hands, whether they used them to create art or for something more. Their long fingers slid inside each other in turns, stretching, curling to find prostates. Iruka's hands did the ghost of an imitation of the movements, sliding up and down his thighs, fingers digging into the muscle.

Iruka soaped up his hands again, and ran them up the insides of Kakashi's thighs, spreading them further apart. Kakashi let him, his dick twitching as Iruka's hands got close, but Iruka didn't touch him. He just left the suds there and sat back, hands lingering on the insides of Kakashi's knees before pulling away completely. 

He met Kakashi's eye with a challenging look, watching him as his story continued. Something about strong hands wrapping around cocks, jerking each other off, that Kakashi couldn't focus on. He blinked for a moment, realizing what Iruka wanted him to do. He held eye contact with Iruka as he gathered some of the soap on his thighs. 

Iruka's eyes flickered downward, watching the way Kakashi rolled back his foreskin and ran soapy fingers over the head. He swallowed hard but didn't look away. This was new too; he'd always turned away or averted his eyes, but now he watched openly and it made Kakashi want to wrap a hand around himself and stroke just to see what he'd do. If he'd keep watching, if he'd offer to help, if his cheeks would turn a darker shade of red. But he kept his grip light, only cleaning himself, even if he did it in the most provocative way possible, reveling in the heated way Iruka's eyes followed the movement.

Iruka stood, bringing a bucket of hot water over to rinse him, not taking what Kakashi wanted to offer. The water did nothing to soothe his feverish skin. He wanted Iruka's hands on him again, even if it was just to tease. His balls ached as he stood and made his way over to the bath to soak. 

Iruka came over beside the tub and continued his story after Kakashi had settled into the bath. Kakashi was hit briefly with the fantasy of Iruka sliding into the tub with him, maybe slowly stretching himself as he spoke before sinking down on Kakashi's dick, water sloshing over the sides as he rode him. Or maybe he'd push Kakashi's legs apart and slot between them, working him open before fucking him hard enough that Kakashi had to grip the sides of the tub to give him enough leverage to thrust back against him. But Iruka did none of that, though his eyes seemed to promise that he would. 

Iruka's story continued, and Kakashi did end up gripping the sides of the bath, though only to keep from touching himself. He'd thought Iruka's stories had been hot before, but he'd had no idea exactly how hot they could be. His previous stories had been titillating, designed for the sole purpose of getting Kakashi to want more. But now, when he wasn't concerned about keeping Kakashi hooked, he could focus entirely on the sex, on the waves of sensation that rolled over the characters, on the feeling and emotions they were drowning in. 

As the characters came, Kakashi willed himself not to do the same. If he'd been touching himself, he would have.

"Of course," Iruka said, "that was just the first night they were together. Would you like to hear more tomorrow night?"

"Yes," Kakashi replied, voice breathy and wanting.

"Yes?" Iruka asked.

It only took Kakashi a moment to realize what he wanted, and it startled a laugh out of him. "Yes, _please_." It wasn't mocking, not in the slightest. It was closer to begging and the look in Iruka's eyes made Kakashi's stomach clench with want. His mind quickly rewrote his fantasy from earlier to Iruka spreading his legs open, fingers brushing against his entrance until Kakashi begged him with a half-moaned _please_ to push them inside. 

Kakashi had never begged for anything in his life, but Iruka made him want to.

"Do you want me to help you dry and dress?" Iruka asked.

He thought briefly of Iruka toweling him dry in his current state and decided it would only end in embarrassment.

"I'm going to soak for a little longer."

It was an obvious lie, the water in the bath was already cooling, but Iruka didn't call him on it. Instead he made his excuses and left Kakashi alone in the humid air of the baths. 

It was impossible not to notice that Iruka wasn't entirely unaffected as he left.

Kakashi barely had to wrap a hand around himself before he was coming, biting back a groan of Iruka's name.

~*~*~

The next night followed the same pattern, with them first going to Iruka's rooms before heading to the baths. But this time, after Iruka had undressed him and gestured for him to take a seat, Kakashi hesitated.

Iruka looked at him in question.

"You missed a piece," Kakashi said and Iruka's gaze was confused for a moment before his eyes settled on his mask.

Kakashi knew the rumors that were told about him. One of the more infamous was that he killed anyone who saw his face. It wasn't true, not entirely at least, but there was something to it. Kakashi hadn't let a new person see his face in years, not before Iruka. Even his closest guards and advisers rarely saw him without his mask.

Iruka had to have heard that rumor, but his hands hadn't shaken in the slightest when he'd taken off the mask last time, and they didn't this time either. 

"Are you sure?" Iruka asked as his fingers touched the edge of the mask.

"Yes," Kakashi said.

Iruka pulled off the mask just as slowly as he had the rest of Kakashi's clothing. It felt liberating to let Iruka see him like this, bare except his eye patch. Iruka's eyes lingered on his face for a few moments before he turned to set the mask aside. Only then did Kakashi sit on the stool Iruka had indicated before.

As Iruka washed him, his fingers slid up Kakashi's neck to cup his cheek and Kakashi leaned into it. They stayed like that for a moment before Iruka's hands moved on. Kakashi memorized the feel of it, letting himself savor the last few days he had of this to its fullest.

Maybe it was the lack of that one cloth barrier between them, maybe it was the extra care that seemed to be in Iruka's touch, maybe it was something more than that, but by the time Kakashi was in the water, he was restless, so close to begging for more, for anything that Iruka was willing to give him.

He tried to stay still, tried to ignore how hard he was, but he couldn't. Not this time.

He shifted in the water, but it didn't help. There was no friction, nothing but warm water on his cock. He wanted release, but he wasn't going to get it, not like this. He gripped the side of the tub and tried to get himself under control. 

It didn't work.

"Touch yourself," Iruka said, an irresistible command in his words, and Kakashi's eye snapped open.

"The two boys looked at each other," Iruka continued, and Kakashi realized he'd momentarily lost the thread of the story because of how turned on he was. "'Touch yourself,' the boy said again, all but demanding it."

Kakashi stared at Iruka, who met his gaze, eyes lingering on his face, something like a challenge hidden in their depths. 

"'I want to see how you get yourself off. Show me what makes you feel good.'"

Kakashi held eye contact with Iruka and slowly lowered one of his hands into the water.

"' _Good_. Now show me what you like. Show me what you do when you think of me.'"

With a groan, Kakashi took himself into hand and started to stroke. 

He closed his eyes again, knowing he'd be unable to hold Iruka's gaze while he did this without coming far too quickly. He bit the inside of his cheek, and the whole time, Iruka kept talking, kept walking him through it, using the characters to tell him how good he looked, how he wanted to see him come undone. 

And he did. He came hard, back arched, somehow managing not to say Iruka's name as lights flashed behind his eyes for what seemed like minutes before he collapsed back against the side of the bath, body shivering through aftershocks. He opened his eyes slowly, vision unfocused, staring up at the ceiling, trying to regain his breath.

"Do you want me to help you dry and dress?" Iruka asked, a husky edge to his tone.

Kakashi needed an extra moment to find his voice, and when he did, it was rough. "Yes, please."

Iruka moved to grab a towel. His robes were tented, even more so than the night before, but he seemed to be fine with ignoring it.

Kakashi stood on shaky legs and stepped out of the bath. He wouldn't have expected jacking off would have taken this much out of him.

Iruka was quiet as he dried him with slow strokes of the towel along his over-sensitized skin. Kakashi tried not to lean into it. Or at least, not too much. He wasn't particularly successful, but he didn't mind. It was so rare for someone to touch him, let alone like this, gentle and caring. It was impossible not to let himself savor it, even if it was just for a moment, just for a few nights.

Iruka held up Kakashi's robe and slipped it onto him, tying it around his waist.

They lingered there for a moment, impossibly close, but not touching. It should be so easy to close that distance, to lean in closer, to bring their lips and bodies together. Like this, he could almost pretend that Iruka was waiting for him to do just that. Kakashi swallowed down thoughts of seeing how perfectly his hand would fit against Iruka's hip, of what it'd be like to cup his cheek, or how soft his hair might feel if he dared to run his fingers through the strands.

"Tomorrow?" Iruka finally asked.

Kakashi nodded. "Tomorrow."

As Iruka left the baths, Kakashi didn't let himself think about the fact that there was only one tomorrow left.

~*~*~


	7. Chapter 7

The ninja defeated all the bad guys and finally brought his best friend home. He became the strongest leader his village had ever known, ruling with his best friend at his side, both of them always ready to protect the other with their life.

And then it was over. Iruka's story was finished. There was no more to tell.

Many nights, Naruto would start to doze off, but tonight he was wide awake. The only times he took his eyes off Iruka were to send Kakashi meaningful glances like he had been all day.

He'd been extra diligent during his daily lesson, acting like a model student whenever he wasn't stopping to make faces at Kakashi, widening his eyes while gesturing towards Iruka with his head. Iruka's smile was bright and fake, pretending like he didn't notice, though he snuck quick, unreadable glances at Kakashi more than once.

Kakashi knew Naruto wanted him to make Iruka stay, but he couldn't order Iruka to do that, even if it was for Naruto.

Dinner had been a painfully awkward affair with Naruto trying to fill the silence. None of them ate much.

That unsettling feeling had continued during Iruka's story, right up until the end.

"Aw, you can't end it _there_ ," Naruto said. "What happens next? Like what happens with the ninja and his friend? Do they have any more awesome fights? Do they travel all over the world defeating bad guys together?"

Iruka smiled. "You know, Naruto, sequels aren't always good. You might be disappointed at what happens next."

Naruto shook his head, determined. "You'd _never_ disappoint me."

Even in the low lantern light, Iruka's eyes looked damp, and Kakashi swallowed hard.

"Fine," Naruto said, "if you don't want to tell me what happens next, you'll just have to start from the beginning and tell it all again. I'm not tired, you can start now."

"Maybe tomorrow," Kakashi said before Iruka could reply. If anyone had to lie to Naruto, it should be him. "Iruka has a story to finish telling me first."

Naruto made a face. "Is it one of your perverted kissing stories?" 

In spite of everything, Kakashi found himself wanting to laugh at his scrunched up look of disgust. He couldn't make himself glance in Iruka's direction, though his eyes were heavy on Kakashi's skin. 

"Something like that," Kakashi said.

Naruto made a gagging noise and Iruka did laugh at that, though there was a ragged edge to it that Kakashi never wanted to hear again.

After some protest, they finished tucking Naruto in for the night, and Kakashi could feel Naruto's eyes glaring kunai into him as he walked away.

As they headed back to Iruka's rooms, Iruka carefully avoided looking him in the eye. Kakashi knew his eyes would be red-rimmed if he did. It was nice to know Iruka had come to care for Naruto that much, that even if he'd never want to stay in the palace, he'd still miss him. 

Kakashi had considered using that against him. He had a soft spot for orphaned children. Maybe Iruka would stay if Kakashi made it clear it was for Naruto. But he didn't want to trap Iruka in the palace just because he was too kind-hearted to say no. If anything, it was just another reason for him to leave. There were a lot more children he could help outside the palace walls.

By the time they'd taken their usual places in Iruka's sitting room, Iruka had gotten himself together again.

"Would you like to hear another story?" he asked. 

Kakashi knew he'd make it good, it'd be the last one after all, but he wanted something else. He'd thought about this the night before, about how liberating it'd felt to let Iruka see him without his mask, to truly be himself in front of another person for once and to know they wouldn't judge. It made him want to show more than just his face to Iruka.

"I'd like to tell you a story of my own," Kakashi said instead.

Iruka looked surprised. He'd clearly thought Kakashi was going to say yes, but he nodded and said, "I'd like that."

And so Kakashi told him a story about a boy who'd grown up too soon, who had been trained to kill from an age far younger than anyone ever should. It was about how that boy went through a hundred betrayals starting with his father killing himself and leaving him alone in a world that seemed to only value his skill with a blade. It was about betrayals that led to the deaths of his closest friends, treason that led to an invasion that killed his king, and the treachery of a close lieutenant who killed his entire clan. The boy was blamed for all of it. He'd killed his friends, betrayed his king to take power for himself, killed off an entire clan that might have been a rival to him in strength. So he let himself be what everyone thought he was. He killed anyone that threatened him, anyone that stood in his way, and became the demon that parents used to get their children to behave. And part of him liked it, liked the simplicity of it, how a person who trusted no one could never be betrayed. He didn't have to show mercy, even when there were people around him who were far better than him and deserved it.

Kakashi didn't have Iruka's gift with words, so he kept it simple, not going into details for most of it. After all the times he'd scoffed at the sob stories criminals had tried to tell him, he wasn't sure he had the right to this. But Iruka listened, he didn't interrupt, just let Kakashi tell his tale, though Kakashi couldn't bring himself to look at him to see his reaction to it. It was easier to keep talking if he pretended Iruka wasn't there.

By the time he'd finished, he felt cut open in a way he hadn't in ages, maybe not since his father's death. 

Iruka stood, and for a moment, Kakashi knew he was going to leave. 

But then he was there, standing beside Kakashi's chair, hand outstretched and eyes full of more compassion and empathy than he deserved.

"I don't think that's the whole story," he said, holding out his hand until Kakashi took it then pulling him to his feet. 

Kakashi gave himself one moment to enjoy the warmth of Iruka's skin against his own. 

"Come with me," Iruka said, voice soft and comforting.

The walk to the baths felt more intimate than it had before. It was hard to ignore how much Kakashi wanted Iruka to stay after he'd just spilled so much of his life story to him. He'd never wanted to reach out and touch someone more in his life. 

Iruka stripping him of his clothing left Kakashi buzzing with the intimacy of it. There was a heaviness between them, but it wasn't stifling. They were standing as close as lovers would, but neither of them took a step back. Kakashi watched him, searching for something though he didn't know what.

Iruka removed Kakashi's clothes piece by piece, until he stood in front of Iruka naked except his eye patch again. He was so conditioned for what would come next that he already felt the thrill of arousal running through his veins.

But Iruka paused and studied his face for a long, drawn out moment.

"Not everyone will betray you. You don't have to do everything alone," he finally said. "But you have to trust people enough to tell them what you need."

His quiet tone was belied by the direct way he was staring up into Kakashi's eye.

Kakashi couldn't breathe as they stood there, eyes locked, Iruka's words playing in his head over and over again. 

Iruka broke eye contact first, face falling as he turned away.

Maybe Kakashi couldn't have everything he wanted, but there were things he could still ask for.

"Bathe with me," Kakashi said. Then remembering their first night together, he added, "please."

Iruka let out a huff of surprised laughter, whether at the request or the _please_ , Kakashi wasn't sure, but then Iruka nodded and the reason didn't matter.

His heart pounded, his hands wanted to shake, and for the first time since they'd started this, he was the one stripping Iruka. He tried to take his time, but he didn't have the patience to tease Iruka the way he'd been teasing Kakashi. Maybe if they had more time, one day he would have been able to get to that point, but for now all he wanted was Iruka naked as quickly as possible, to have nothing between them, to see all of him.

After Kakashi had finished stripping him, Iruka gestured for him to sit on his usual stool. All Kakashi could do was nod, watching the shift of muscles under Iruka's skin as he reached for soap and water.

The way Iruka washed him couldn't be called sexual, not exactly. If anything, it was tender. His hands moved slowly over Kakashi's body, but there was too much care in his touch for it to be truly teasing. Kakashi wasn't sure if he'd ever been touched this way before. Being touched sexually was one thing, this was so far beyond that. 

He could focus on nothing but the sight of Iruka naked in front of him, touching him in ways that seemed to promise there could be more to this. Iruka's hands slid all the way up his thighs and encircled his dick, he glanced up at Kakashi as he ran soapy fingers over the head. Kakashi had to shut his eye when the sight of it got too much for him. 

It took him a moment to realize Iruka had stopped.

Kakashi opened his eye again to find Iruka staring up at him. 

Without letting himself think about it, Kakashi spoke. "Let me wash you."

Iruka did. They switched places and again their roles were reversed.

[ ](https://i-like-to-look-at-your-back.tumblr.com/post/618391413781069824/kakairu)

Kakashi marveled at the feeling of Iruka's skin under his hands, traced the edges of the scar on his back, liked the way Iruka leaned into his touch, loved being able to watch Iruka's cock thicken because of him.

Kakashi poured water over his body, watching it wash away the soap.

_I've never met anyone like you before_ , he wanted to say, but he couldn't get the words out. 

_I think I've wanted you longer than I even realized, maybe from the moment you spoke back to me._

_I'm pretty sure I'm in love with you._

But that seemed inappropriate. So instead he focused on the present and didn't let himself think about tomorrow. He set down the bucket and turned back towards Iruka.

"What next?" Iruka asked.

Kakashi had given that more thought than was probably healthy. He knew exactly what he wanted. 

_I want you to fuck me tonight._

_I want to wake up with you in the morning._

_I want you to stay._

But he didn't say that. There was asking for something he wanted, and then there was being foolish.

"I want you in whatever way you'll let me have you," Kakashi said instead. It was vague enough he could pretend it was only about sex.

Iruka's smile was mischievous. "And what do you say when you ask for something?"

" _Please_ ," Kakashi said, the word just shy of begging. He was beyond caring. He'd beg if Iruka wanted him to. It'd be worth it.

They settled into the bath together, Iruka pulling Kakashi in front of him, his dick a distracting hardness against Kakashi's ass while he spoke low and hot in his ear.

"I'm going to tell you a story that you need to hear," Iruka said.

Iruka began to tell him a story of a king feared by everyone and a criminal who only wanted to save his friends and how slowly the criminal realized all the things the king was hiding behind his multiple masks. How caring he was, how he sacrificed himself for others, how he was strong and worthy of more than he let himself have.

Kakashi swallowed down the emotions it stirred in him.

As he told his story, Iruka's touches were the same as before, slow and soothing, caring in a way Kakashi hadn't earned. 

The bath water had grown cold by the time Iruka had run out of words, but Kakashi barely noticed.

"What happens next?" Kakashi asked, twisting to look back at Iruka.

"You tell me," Iruka said, and Kakashi had to press his eyes shut, overwhelmed by how much he wanted.

He turned further in Iruka's arms, eyes flickering down to his lips and then back up.

"Can I kiss you?" 

Iruka didn't have to be asked twice. His hand slid up to cup Kakashi's jaw, pulling him closer and bringing their mouths together for the first time. His kisses were just like the rest of him, open and deliberate, teasing and more than a little maddening. All Kakashi could do was wish this went on forever. 

He'd never understood all the breathless words devoted to kissing in the stories he'd read, he'd never gotten the appeal. He understood it now.

Too soon Iruka broke the kiss, pulling apart enough to say, "We should go back to your bedroom."

Kakashi couldn't agree fast enough.

Iruka helped him to his feet, water rolling down their bodies, and they toweled each other dry quickly. They pulled on the bare minimum of clothing necessary to make it through the halls, though no amount of layers would conceal how hard they both were. The fabric of their robes stuck to mostly damp skin, but it didn't matter; they'd be removed again soon enough.

Then Iruka was leading him back to his rooms while Kakashi tried to remember how to breathe.

They didn't linger in the sitting room; instead, Kakashi let himself be pulled into his bedroom. 

It wasn't until they were there that Kakashi realized how late it was. It was past midnight already, past the time when Iruka should be free. But Iruka wasn't saying anything about it, so Kakashi wouldn't either. 

There was a moment of awkward hesitation as they stood by the bed, but then Kakashi pulled down his mask and Iruka took it as the invitation it was meant to be.

Again Kakashi was in awe of how much of himself Iruka put in his kisses, how easy it was to get swept away by the feeling of their tongues sliding against each other, the completeness with which Iruka consumed him.

Without breaking the kiss, Iruka pushed Kakashi's robe open and off his shoulders, the silk quietly rasping against his body as it slid to the floor. Kakashi moved to follow suit, stripping Iruka out of his own layers, needing to get his hands on him.

Iruka moved down to kiss along Kakashi's neck, giving him a moment to marvel at the contrast of their skin, the way Iruka's blush spread to other parts of his body, making him appear shy even as his hands and mouth boldly ran across the expanses of Kakashi's skin.

He kissed his way back up Kakashi's neck, pulling their bodies close, cocks rubbing against each other as they pressed together, mouths finding each other again. But then Iruka was reaching down, one hand straying further back, and Kakashi groaned into the kiss as a finger slid down between his ass cheeks, a promise of what would come next.

"Do you have something?" Iruka asked, pulling away from the kiss, and Kakashi chased after his mouth for a moment before he could get himself together enough to answer.

"There's oil." 

Kakashi grabbed the bottle and gave it to Iruka, who pushed him gently until he turned around and knelt on the bed. 

"You've never done this before," Iruka said, sliding onto the bed behind him. It wasn't a question, but Kakashi answered anyway. 

"Not like this." The few times he'd had sex, he'd never let anyone fuck him. It required more trust in another person than he'd ever had, even when he was a teenager. None of the fumbling, mutual handjobs or quick, inexperienced fucks could compare to this.

Iruka draped himself over Kakashi, wrapped an arm around his waist, brushed kisses against the back of his shoulder and neck, before pulling back enough to prepare him. Kakashi had done this to himself before, but having someone else's fingers in his ass was new. He shifted back, trying to get more, and Iruka gave it to him, pushing his fingers in deeper.

Iruka leaned in close, speaking in his ear, voice low and rough. This time it wasn't a story, it was all about Kakashi. How good he felt, how tight he was, how Iruka couldn't wait to be inside him. The words shivered down Kakashi's spine and made his toes want to curl. Iruka had to be able to feel the not-quite repressed quivering as his voice ghosted over Kakashi's ear.

He pulled back, slid his fingers out. 

" _Please_ ," Kakashi said, and he could feel the way that one word made Iruka shudder. 

They moved further up onto the bed, Kakashi's legs falling open the moment he was settled against the pillows. Iruka didn't hesitate, just followed, spread his legs further and slowly pushed inside.

He held there for a moment, searching his face for any sign of discomfort, both their breaths ragged and quick. When he finally did start to move it was with slow, shallow thrusts, not pushing all the way in, like he thought Kakashi might break.

Kakashi didn't want careful, not if this was the only night he had. Thinking of Iruka's words from all those months ago, he slid his hands down Iruka's back, grabbed his ass tight and pulled him in hard. 

Iruka tilted forward, groaning into his neck then letting out a breathless chuckle. "I see someone remembers our debate."

"It was _memorable_ ," Kakashi replied, just as breathless, overwhelmed by the perfect way Iruka was filling him up.

"You never did tell me if you had a preference."

"You might need to try a little harder to sell me on this being the best position."

Iruka took that for the challenge it was. He didn't fuck Kakashi as hard as he'd been imagining, but he was relentless about it, steadily drawing Kakashi higher and higher. There was a glint in his eyes that let Kakashi know he was holding himself back, like someday he'd fuck him until he'd be able to feel Iruka for days afterwards, like they had that _someday_ waiting for them.

Iruka leaned down to kiss him again, and it didn't feel right to call what they did after that fucking. It was too slow, too tender. There was too much eye contact, too many deep kisses that felt like they could go on forever.

Kakashi pressed his eyes shut to block out the overwhelming intensity of his gaze, but Iruka didn't let that stop him from turning Kakashi into a withering mess underneath him.

He pressed against him, their entire bodies sliding together with each thrust. He leaned in close and started to speak again. 

After all the dirty stories he'd been telling, the things he said were far from the filthiest Kakashi had heard come out of his mouth, but there was so much more to them now. Like before, this wasn't about fictional characters. It was about how good Kakashi made him feel, how he'd wanted this for so long, how Kakashi deserved happiness.

But it was Iruka kissing words of wanting this night to last forever into his neck that finally pushed Kakashi over the edge, that sent waves of desire crashing through him, pulling him into an inescapable undertow of want and need and pleasure.

It took a full minute for his thoughts and vision to be anything but pure white noise and light.

Iruka was there, waiting for him to come back to himself, still holding him close, still whispering in his ear. He rocked himself to orgasm in Kakashi's body, and Kakashi groaned at the over stimulation, enjoying every moment of it.

It wasn't until Iruka had pulled out and rolled slightly off him that Kakashi realized their hands were clasped, fingers interlaced. He didn't know when it had happened, at what point their hands had found each other, but Iruka wasn't pulling away, so he wouldn't either. 

That one small connection left Kakashi in awe, left him almost afraid to hope. Iruka's thumb traced small circles over his hand, and Kakashi had to fight back a shiver.

They lay there quietly, no words or stories seemed to be enough. But it was soothing, the feeling of Iruka next to him in the still moments before dawn.

Kakashi didn't fall asleep. Instead, he held Iruka in his arms, staring at the ceiling, waiting for the sun to rise, trying to imprint this moment into his mind.

But as the sky grew lighter, the silence between them grew heavier until it was demanding Kakashi say things he was unsure how to say. Iruka was free now. Surely, any moment he would get up, he'd leave without looking back, and Kakashi would have to let him go.

Just as the sky was getting light enough that they couldn't pretend it wasn't day anymore, Iruka nudged his nose against the side of his neck. 

The question was quiet, so much so that he almost didn't hear it. Quiet enough they could both pretend it wasn't there if they wanted. But he heard it all the same. A softly whispered, "Would you like to hear another story tomorrow night?"

It was a question Kakashi had heard dozens of times, but it was offering so much more now. 

"No," Kakashi said before he could stop himself. He felt Iruka tense in his arms, start to pull away. The way his face dropped just urged Kakashi on, telling him this was right. Kakashi gripped his hand tight to keep him from going. "I don't just want a story."

"Then what do you want?" Iruka asked, voice shaky.

"It's your choice. You're free to go, but I want you to stay here. Forever."

Iruka blinked at him in surprise.

"Please," Kakashi added.

Iruka let out a huff of laughter then leaned forward to press a breathless _yes_ against his lips.

When Iruka pulled back, he asked, "So no more stories?"

"I didn't say that," Kakashi said, a tinge of panic in his voice. "I still want stories. As many of them as you'll give me."

Iruka chuckled then leaned forward to kiss him again. "Okay," he said. "We can do that."

~*~*~

They finally made it out of bed, managing to make themselves presentable in Kakashi's bathroom and get to Iruka's rooms shortly before Naruto's usual arrival time.

Naruto peeked his head into the room, anxious gaze darting around. When his eyes landed on Iruka, he brightened considerably. He ran to the table and sat down next to Iruka, his smile blinding.

"You're still my tutor?" he asked.

Iruka grinned, feeling warm and content. "For as long as you need me to be."

"Forever," Naruto said.

Iruka was smiling so hard, he felt like his face was going to split apart, and his eyes stung from the happiness swelling inside him, too big to contain in one person. He glanced at Kakashi, who nodded.

"Yeah," Iruka said, voice rough, "I think we can do that."

Naruto looked triumphant, turning towards Kakashi and sticking out his tongue. "See, I _told_ you!"

Iruka couldn't help but laugh as he reached out to ruffle Naruto's hair, and Naruto grinned back at him.

There were still things he'd need to do, things that had to be worked out. He'd need to go home and take care of everything there, make sure it was okay, but he wasn't entirely surprised to find how right it felt that _home_ didn't just apply to one place anymore.

"Can I be your ring bearer?" Naruto asked suddenly.

"What?" Iruka asked, startled out of his thoughts.

"For your wedding, duh," Naruto said. 

"Oh," Iruka said, glancing over at Kakashi whose mask didn't entirely cover his blush. "I think that could be arranged."

"Good," Naruto said. "I'll be your best man too. For both of you."

Iruka shook his head. "You'll be very busy."

Naruto's grin was obnoxiously wide and more than a little contagious. 

And that night, when they went to tuck Naruto in, Iruka started a brand new story, one about pirates and friendship that he had all the time in the world to tell. 

After that, there was a story about a young boy being haunted by a board game playing ghost, then one about gods of death fighting against each other, and another about fledgling superheroes in training.

Each night, the three of them curled up in bed as Iruka told story after story, more than once the three of them dozing off together as he did.

As time went on, Kakashi's orange book sat on his shelf, dusty and unread. He always said he preferred Iruka's stories anyway. Even when they were the ones he told Naruto. 

Besides, no story could ever compare to their own.

[ ](https://i.ibb.co/XYmBmPH/ichaicha-nights-02.png)

~*~*~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I hope you liked it! ♥ 
> 
> Chapter 8 is just a deleted scene from the morning after and a bunch of author's notes. I'll be posting it tomorrow or the day after. :)


	8. Deleted Scene

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was cut from the morning after, but I figured I might as well include it as a bonus deleted scene.

_When Iruka pulled back, he asked, "So no more stories?"_

_"I didn't say that," Kakashi said, a tinge of panic in his voice. "I still want stories. As many of them as you'll give me."_

_Iruka chuckled then leaned forward to kiss him again. "Okay," he said. "We can do that."_

"Good," Kakashi said, "because I keep fantasizing about you fucking my mouth while you tell one of your stories." Then after a pause he added a cheeky, " _Please._ "

Iruka blushed bright red, but Kakashi could feel his dick hardening against his leg at the idea. And for the first time, he realized that it might be just as fun saying dirty things to Iruka as it was hearing them from him.

"Yeah, okay," Iruka said, staring at Kakashi's mouth. "We can do that too."

"Now?"

Iruka swallowed hard and nodded. "Now is good."

Kakashi got out of bed and took Iruka's hand, helping him to his feet. He tugged him towards the sitting room, and Iruka's eyes widened in surprise. He hesitated at the door, not letting Kakashi pull him through.

" _Out there_?" he said in a scandalized whisper.

" _Yes_ ," Kakashi said, he knew _exactly_ what he wanted to do to him.

"What if someone comes in?"

"They won't." 

It was early enough, the probability of it happening was slim. Not entirely nonexistent, but slim.

Iruka didn't look convinced, but he let himself be pulled into the room, his eyes darting around, clearly unsure where Kakashi was going with this.

"Sit there," Kakashi said, pointing to his chair.

Iruka's eyes widened further. It wasn't lost on him that it was the same chair Kakashi had been sitting in the first time Iruka had been brought before him.

He sat down, perching on the edge of the seat, legs together, a nervous tension running through his body as he glanced over at the door to Kakashi's rooms again.

Kakashi didn't waste any more time. He knelt in front of Iruka, watching his chest rise in quick, shallow breaths. Iruka's cheeks were red, his eyes dark.

He brought his hands to Iruka's knees, putting gentle pressure on them until Iruka realized his current position wasn't conducive to what Kakashi was about to do. He shifted back in the chair and let his legs fall open.

Kakashi moved closer, ran his hands over Iruka's thighs as he looked up at him. They stayed there for a moment, suspended. Both breathing hard, eyes locked.

Then Iruka blinked, glanced at the door one last time before he turned his focus on Kakashi. "Right. The story," he said. "Any requests?'

Kakashi skimmed his fingertips along the length of Iruka's cock, liking the way it made Iruka's breath catch. "How about the ninja's first and second teachers? There had to be something between those two."

Iruka laughed. "Yeah, I think there was." He took a deep breath and tried to gather himself.

Kakashi didn't want that. He didn't want Iruka _collected_ , he wanted to take him apart the way Iruka had done to him last night. He leaned in, curling a hand around Iruka's dick.

This still felt strange. It'd been so long since he'd let himself touch anyone, let anyone touch him. All of his minimal experience had happened with fellow soldiers before the Invasion. It'd been new and hurried, good only because of the lack of anything to compare it to. Too impatient to make it last, too inexperienced to make it entirely pleasant. And even then, he'd never taken his mask off, never been on his knees in front of anyone like this, never had a dick in his mouth. But he was salivating at the thought of it now, mind full of all the stories he'd read, the stories Iruka had told him, the desire to feel the weight of Iruka on his tongue. 

He'd imagined this before, kneeling before Iruka in this chair, but he'd always pictured it with him clothed. It was so much better with all his tan skin on display.

Iruka started to speak in a low voice, but Kakashi couldn't focus on his words, instead transfixed by the sight of his fingers tracing patterns over Iruka's cock, his palm sliding against his skin. He wanted to draw this out, make Iruka wait for it, tease him until he shook, but he still didn't have the patience for that yet. It could come later. Now that they had a later.

He leaned forward and ran his tongue along the length of him, lost himself in the taste of Iruka, looked up and was caught in the hot intensity of his gaze. And when he slid Iruka into his mouth, he liked the feel of him more than he could have imagined.

Iruka spoke in broken fragments of story, a jumble of words that could either be from him or his characters, but Kakashi didn't care.

He got used to having Iruka in his mouth, to the way his foreskin moved as he sucked him down, and he wondered if Iruka would eventually feel comfortable enough to twist his fingers in Kakashi's hair as he told his stories. If he'd ever fuck Kakashi's mouth slowly until his jaw started to ache, hips working him over like he had all the time in the world. Just the thought of it made Kakashi impossibly hard. 

He savored the way he could get Iruka to falter and forget his words if he sucked hard enough or moved his tongue just right. Those moments were some of the sweetest victories he'd ever tasted, but they didn't compare to the thrill of Iruka's back arching, Kakashi's name on his lips, as he came in his mouth. 

Iruka collapsed back against the chair, breath ragged, eyes pressed shut. One of his hands came up to slide along Kakashi's jaw and cup his cheek. That one touch made him think of Iruka naked in his bed, all their movements unhurried and meaningful, tangled together night after night, and the realization that he could have exactly that made something warm and bright bloom in his chest. 

Iruka came back to himself slowly, running fingers through Kakashi's hair until he found his voice again. 

"You really need to fuck me after that," he said, voice rough. 

Kakashi grinned and stood, more than happy to do anything Iruka wanted done to him. He pulled Iruka up onto shaky legs and back towards the bedroom. 

"Okay," Kakashi replied, his own voice rough as well and not entirely from the fact that he'd just had Iruka down his throat. "We can do that too."

~*~*~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, thank you so much for reading! ♥ Writing this was a crazy ride. I was in the HP fandom back when the original H/D Big Bang happened and ever since I've wanted to do one. I thought it'd be cool to hit the full 50k, and if you count this bonus scene, I did manage to do that. \\(^o^)/
> 
> I had the idea for this floating around in my head for a while. There were a bunch of different ways I wanted to take it. Please indulge me by letting me babble about them now.
> 
> Honestly, I sort of wanted Iruka to just blow Kakashi when they first met (possibly while Genma & Tenzo watched), but I couldn't see Iruka doing that or Kakashi wanting it, so 50k later, you get this scene instead. XD;
> 
> I also debated about whether Iruka or Kakashi should have Naruto (and Sasuke). I loved the idea of Iruka having both. It would have gone something like this:
> 
> Naruto and Sasuke are both orphans. Iruka tutors and mentors them and gives them as much attention and love as he can. He's been working with Naruto for ages, Sasuke is newer and not very open yet. They are both devastated when Iruka disappears. Naruto openly, Sasuke privately. They hear a rumor that Iruka and his friends were taken prisoner at the palace.
> 
> A few days later, Naruto tries to sneak in to save Iruka. Sasuke "helps" by getting dragged along. Naruto is brought in kicking and screaming. He demands to see the king and to know what he did with Iruka. "If he hurt him, I'll kill him!" sort of thing. The guards have no clue what to do. Sasuke follows along quietly. They bring them to Kakashi, knowing Iruka will be there and hopefully they can work things out.
> 
> Iruka is like OMG NARUTO, SASUKE and rushes to them, hugging them. Even Sasuke is happy though he tries to play it off.
> 
> Guard 1: He tried to sneak in.  
> Guard 2: Well, he didn't really SNEAK, so much as just climb the wall and announce himself and demand to see you and say that if anyone tried to stop him, he'd beat them to a pulp.
> 
> Naruto curses out Kakashi and demands he let Iruka go, says he'll fight him. Iruka is like "NARUTO, DON'T CURSE." Which Kakashi finds funny given the stories Iruka tells.
> 
> Naruto refuses to leave without Iruka, Kakashi doesn't know what to do either. Technically he should kill them for breaking in, but even he can't bring himself to do that. He starts to say "We'll have to put them in the cel-" but Iruka is giving him a horrified look, and yeah, Kakashi gets it. He gives them rooms with guards, but Naruto demands Iruka stay with them, Iruka won't leave his friends. It's a clusterfuck that ends up with Iruka, Izumo, Kotetsu, Naruto, and Sasuke all in a very nice set of rooms down the hall from Kakashi. Naruto is a giant cockblock, but eventually helps them get together.
> 
> Possibly Kakashi thinks Sasuke looks familiar but it isn't until Iruka tells him that he thinks his brother killed his whole family that Kakashi realizes it's because he is Itachi's brother. Maybe Naruto is the former king's son, assumed dead by everyone. He'd been left for dead, but a young Iruka found him and saved him.
> 
> But in the end, I liked the idea of Kakashi caring for Naruto more. 
> 
> Another option was possibly Kakashi having both. Sasuke was the lone survivor of the clan that had been slaughtered by one of Kakashi’s closest lieutenants. Sasuke is 7 when this happens, so Kakashi has only been caring for him for about a year. He is traumatized, mostly just stays in his rooms. Kakashi doesn't want anyone to know that he survived just yet. Like Naruto, he is too young and vulnerable. 
> 
> Maybe during one of their lessons, Naruto bitches about Sasuke to Iruka. Kakashi is like NARUTO but it's too late. Iruka looks at him and Kakashi sighs and brings him to Sasuke. After that, they both come to Iruka's lessons and slowly Sasuke starts to respond to people more.
> 
> The other option was that Kakashi has Naruto, but Iruka has Sasuke. Iruka found Sasuke after Itachi killed their whole clan (or Itachi dropped him off at Iruka's, having done his research and found the best place to hide him). When Iruka is telling his story to Kakashi, he mentions the latest kid he is caring for, how he is a really tough case. Kakashi doesn't realize who it is at first. At the end of the story, they bring Sasuke to the palace where he and Naruto immediately annoy/grudgingly like each other.
> 
> I don't think that idea is entirely incompatible with this and I still have a HC for this that Iruka eventually brings a bunch of orphans to the palace and their family gets bigger and Naruto finally has kids his own age to play with.
> 
> So, yeah. Those are the roads I didn't take with this.
> 
> This was really long. I almost ran out of space. ^__^;; If you actually read through all that, thank you for indulging me! ♥


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